Little White Lines
by AnimeNugget
Summary: The old Imada are a clan of silkmakers, small and reclusive, but seem to have a long history of unusually good luck. Is this by chance or are the rumors true? Both the Senju and Uchiha clans intend to find out. [Tobirama x OC]
1. Rumors

The sound of the gentle rain outside began to fade and the world slowly became quieter and quieter. She had long feared the day where the last of her hearing would go, leaving her alone in a world of black. It seems that her fears have finally caught up with her.

It won't be long now.

She silently comforted herself; it'll be ok, she's not the first to go through this and she won't be the last. This is what's supposed to happen. It'll be ok. There's nothing to be afraid of. It'll be ok.

Take a deep breath.

Calm down.

Everything will be ok.

The ever familiar image of a spiky-haired shinobi came to mind.

Surely he was already on his way here. It broke her heart to have him see her like this but she was glad to know she wouldn't be alone in her final moments.

She was endlessly grateful to have met him, even if it wasn't meant to be. If only they had been born in a different time, in different lives, perhaps then fate would have been on their side. But there's no use wishing for what has already passed, she was happy with the hand she was dealt.

It won't be long now.

As the last of the rain's pitter patter faded, she remembered how it all began. It wasn't so long ago and, come to think of it, it was a day much like this...

* * *

"Hello, my name is Senju Hashirama, this is my brother Tobirama." a tall man with long dark hair greeted the guards at the gate. "We are here to see the Imada clan leader."

The guards signaled for the tall gates to be opened, revealing a short blonde woman who bowed to the men.

"My name is Imada Samaru, please follow me."

The woman named Samaru lead the pair through the small village, weaving the worn stone paths until they came to a house that was noticeably larger than the rest. As they entered, the Senju brothers noticed that it, along with the rest of the village, had a very traditional design, almost impractically so. Though, Hashirama thought, that must be because the clan didn't have a war to worry about, unlike so many around them.

"Senju-san!" A young man no older than the brothers emerged from the building, smiling as he walked up to the pair. "It's an honor to finally meet you!"

This must be Imada Toru, the newly appointed clan head. The man was tall with long black hair tied into a neat ponytail. His striking green eyes gleamed with intellect and he had an air of elegance about him. What surprised the brothers most were the garments adorning him; they couldn't help but notice that the deep green material was unlike the ones they were used to; it was smoother and flowed like water. They knew the Imada were expert silkmakers but a piece like this was still quite the sight to see.

"Please, this way." Toru led them inside and motioned towards a small room to their right. He whispered something to Samaru before the girl bowed and shuffled away.

"Your village is very beautiful, Imada-san." Hashirama grinned politely, taking a seat in front of the low-set table.

"You're too kind." Toru closed the door and took a seat across from the guests. "Anyways, about why I asked you here. I know my late father was firmly against conducting trade with other clans, but, as stated in my letter, I believe our work is something to be shared with the world. Your clan has long showed interest in our silk, so if you're still willing, I would like to discuss a trade deal between our clans."

As if on cue, the door slid open and Samaru stepped inside, handing a roll of glossy blue material to Toru. The young man unrolled a length of it, draping the rich fabric over the table.

"So this is the famous Imada silk, its an honor to finally be able to see it up close!" Hashirama smiled, picking up one end of it. He was surprised how soft it was, certainly unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

"That's great to hear! Come, I'd like to show you some of our finished garments." Toru smiled enthusiastically.

He lead the brothers across the large building, coming to a hall of elaborate, important-looking doors. Pushing open the first one on the left, Toru stepped inside, followed by the brothers whose eyes lit up at the sight before them.

The large chamber was filled with rows upon rows of hanging kimonos, each one gleaming with the same shine that only the Imada could achieve. As he approached the one nearest to the door, Hashirama noticed the incredible detail that graced the material: an elegant peacock fanned its tail proudly, each feather on the bird was embroidered immaculately, even its eyes seemed to be staring back at him. Blue and green tail feathers were scattered across the cream surface of the kimono, as if they had been carried up in a soft breeze.

The one next to it was no less breathtaking. The silk seemed to have captured spring itself: flowers trailed up the back of the garment, twisting ever so slightly before disappearing at the collar. The rich green tone of the fabric was one of a forest in the peak of spring, it almost seemed out of place in the current autumn season. Each kimono had a uniquely intricate design, but they were all truly stunning.

"As you can see, our silks are the finest in the country. They're lighter, smoother, and have an unrivaled shine to them. I can personally guarantee that there isn't anyone who can compete with our silkmakers."

Hashirama examined the garment with great interest, cautiously picking up the fabric and running his fingers across its brilliant surface. Tobirama, on the other hand, didn't seem nearly as impressed.

"It's wonderful! I've never seen anything like it! Our clan has always been impressed by your silkmakers, though we'd never thought we'd see them up close."

"What do you think? Are you interested?" Toru asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"I don't think I can say no after seeing these!"

* * *

"Brother, should we really be focused on this kind of unnecessary trade while we're in the middle of a war?" Tobirama spoke for the first time since they arrived at the small village. "We have enough to worry about, we shouldn't be giving our attention to such a matter."

Hashirama smiled sheepishly.

"Well, the truth is, I haven't told you the real reason I agreed to the trade." Ignoring the glare from the younger man, he continued. "I've been researching an old legend surrounding the Imada."

Tobirama raised an eyebrow. His brother's interest in rumors and legends never ended well.

"They say there's a line of seers within the clan."

"Seers?" He scoffed incredulously. "You believe in that nonsense?"

"It's worth looking into." Hashirama defended. "If it's true, they might be a great asset to us, we might even be able to find a peaceful solution to the war!"

"And you agreed to that insanely expensive trade deal just so you can look for this 'seer.'" The younger Senju deadpanned, only to receive a sheepish grin from his brother. "How can you be sure the legend is true? We may be wasting time and money looking for someone who doesn't exist."

"I've thought about it and I think it's worth the risk. Imagine how quickly we could end this war if we knew what the other side was planning! We might even be able to make a treaty!"

Tobirama sighed at his ever-present optimism.

"Fine, but you better find solid evidence of this seer quickly or I'm cutting off the deal."

The older man sweatdropped.

"We're meeting with the Imada again in a few days, I'll see what I can gather before then."

* * *

Tobirama sighed and unrolled yet another scroll.

Hashirama's intent on finding this mysterious seer had,unfortunately, intrigued him. He had been searching through dozens of scrolls and, after many hours, had yet to find anything remotely helpful.

Records of the reclusive Imada clan were few and far between, but from what he had gathered he knew they were a relatively small group that had a long history of silk weaving. Though they did have a number of shinobi among them, they have not been involved in any significant conflict for many years. This was rather strange; wars were a common occurrence as they have been for a long time. One scroll, obtained from a clan that the Senju had conquered no more than a decade ago, detailed an elaborate plan to raid the Imada village for their famed silk, but it ended with a comment stating simply:

 _The Imada shinobi ambushed our forces, swift and silent._

 _Our plan was unsuccessful._

This scroll was relatively recent, from when Tobirama was a young boy. He recalled that the authoring clan was quite formidable, although smaller and weaker than the Senju, they should have crushed the Imada with ease. How could they have lost to a clan of silkmakers?

Could this be the work of a...

No.

There are no such thing as seers.

Tobirama set aside the document, scolding himself for even considering such an irrational thing.

Despite this, he found himself searching through another scroll, then another, then another. He didn't know what he was looking for. Perhaps he was hoping to prove himself right, or perhaps he was hoping to prove himself wrong.

The night had slipped into day before the young Senju emerged from his study, having poured over the few scrolls repeatedly. It was not unusual for him to throw himself into a task like this, though it was usually something of greater substance. He had never shown much interest in legends and hear-say, but with the seemingly ever-growing war at their heels, he was looking for anything that could stop it, even if it meant chasing a myth.

* * *

Toru glanced at the lone female attendant standing in front of a large yet simple screen door. The girl nodded and motioned for him to enter.

As he stepped inside, he felt a familiar warmth wash over him.

"Those shinobi were very strong."

"I know, it's a bit intimidating. There's no way our men would be able to fight them off if they turned on us... was it a good idea to make a deal with them?" Toru sat down, a concerned frown etched on his features.

"I didn't warn you about them, that means nothing terrible will come of it."

Toru chuckled at the words.

"You know, I didn't expect them to agree to the deal, actually I'm surprised they did. It might just be me overthinking, but do they have... another purpose in mind?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

There was a pause before he got a response.

"They're in the middle of a war that's been dragging on for years. You can imagine what that's like, Toru, the lengths one would go to stop it."

His eyes cast down and he nodded slowly.

"Then I believe you already have your answer."

The man remained silent.

"Don't worry about it. Everything has its time, just trust yourself to make the right decision and everything else will fall into place."

"It seems like I learn a new life lesson every time we speak." He chuckled. "I don't know if I trust myself, but I trust you. I'll take your advice, thanks for that."

"That's what I'm here for."

Toru glanced back at the door and noticed the light outside was dimming.

"It's getting late, I don't want to bother you too much. I'll come by tomorrow, try to get some rest." He stood and retreated towards the door.

"Thanks for visiting, Toru. Good night."

"Good night."

* * *

 **Hello readers and welcome to a new story! The first few chapters of this particular adventure will bring up a lot of questions but rest assured they will all be answered soon.**

 **Thank you for reading, feedback is always appreciated, and I'll see you very soon!**


	2. An Odd Encounter

"Imada-san! It's wonderful to see you again." Hashirama greeted upon reaching the clan's main compound.

A week had passed since the Senju brothers' first visit to the Imada village and they had come to finalize some details of their trade agreement.

"I was about to say the same! Thank you both for coming. Please, follow me." Toru led the two into the one of the conference rooms, the same one they had spoken in last time, where three men were already waiting.

"These are my advisors, they'll be joining us today. They worked with my father, so they know even more about the village than I do." Toru chuckled, taking a seat in front of the three elderly men.

"Excellent. Well, I'd like to discuss our end of the deal. We have many products that we can offer in exchange for your silks: ceramics from the Aharo clan, precious stones from the western nomads, spices from the Kazahimaru clan-"

"I'm sorry, I must not have made our intentions clear." Toru interrupted. "We aren't looking for any luxuries. What we want is simple, really: a team of your best medics."

The Senju brothers blinked in surprise.

"Medics?" Hashirama repeated questioning. "That's no problem, but, if I may ask, why do you need them?"

"Well, you see, a close friend of mine is suffering from a disease that none of our doctors can cure." The young Imada's expression sullied and his eyes briefly cast downwards. "We hoped that a larger clan like yourselves would have better resources than we do."

"This friend of yours must be a very important person for you to start a trade deal like this." Tobirama commented pointedly.

"Yes, we've always been very close. I feel terrible not being able to do anything to help."

"We're asking for five of your most capable medics. We're willing to send shipments of silk every month for as long as they're here. If they are able to cure the disease, we will speak further about a new arrangement." One of the advisors spoke in a deep, scratchy voice.

The brothers glanced at each other for a brief moment.

"We have a deal."

Toru instantly perked up at this.

"That's wonderful! Thank you very much!" He grinned gratefully, shaking both Senjus' hands.

After a few more minutes of negotiating details, the six men filed out of the room, all seeming very pleased with their agreement.

"Thank you again for coming today. I'm glad we were able to work everything out." Toru smiled as he led the brothers out of the compound.

"As are we." Hashirama nodded cheerfully. "Our medics should arrive within five days, I'm sure they'll be able to help your friend." He assured.

"Toru-sama." A soft voice interrupted their conversation.

They turned to see a young woman with shoulder length brown hair standing just behind the said man. Though her tone was calm, she seemed a bit rattled.

"Mila, what are you doing here?" Toru asked, slightly surprised to see her.

"Um," The girl glanced at the Senju brothers before turning back to her leader. " _Someone's_ asked to speak with you."

Toru frowned at this, though he quickly hid it with an apologetic smile as he turned to the two other men.

"I'm sorry, but it seems I have to take care of something. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Mila, please show our guests to the door."

Hashirama took the opportunity and cut in.

"No need! We can find our way back! Besides it sounds important, you should go!" He waved dramatically.

"Thank you for understanding, I'll see you both soon." Toru bowed before turning and shuffling away, Mila following closely behind.

Hashirama smiled after the two and, after they had disappeared from sight, turned back to his brother with a sly grin on his face.

"This is our chance!" He whispered loudly.

"Our chance to do what?" Tobirama frowned, dreading what the response would be.

"To look for the seer! They have to be in the main compound somewhere and this place isn't very big, we just have to-"

"We're not going to sneak around this place."

"Come on, Tobirama! We just need to find more information on them, there has to be records somewhere around here."

* * *

"Do you know why she wants to talk?" Toru asked nervously. "She never calls for me like this…"

"I'm not sure, sir, but she seemed upset." Mila answered, concerned.

Upon reaching a familiar sliding door, Toru slipped it open and stepped inside while Mila remained on the other side of the screen, standing guard in her usual place.

"You wanted to-"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I… don't know what you mean." Toru frowned, confusion evident on his features.

"Was this your plan all along? To try and cure me? That's why you wanted to open trade?"

Toru shifted at her uncharacteristically sharp tone.

"If we could treat your condition it would be good for all of us, and you wouldn't have to go through… you know..." He trailed before suddenly realizing something. "I haven't told you about the details of the trade deal yet...have you been Detailing again?"

He took her lack of response as confirmation.

"You know it's bad for you! Why would you-"

"Don't try to change the subject. What I have is untreatable and you know it, there's no point in what you're trying to do."

Toru remained silent for a moment, eyes glued to the ground.

"I just I don't want you to go through what the others did." He sighed, disheartened. "I'm sorry. I should've told you."

He heard her echo his sigh.

"I suppose I shouldn't be so harsh. The truth is, your trade deal is the beginning of something quite important."

"What do you mean?" Toru asked, again hopeful that his efforts haven't been in vain.

"While I was Detailing your meeting with the two shinobi, I noticed they were a bit too keen on giving up their medics, especially considering the three different wars they're in right now. I thought it was odd so I traced their lines forward a bit and let's just say they're not _just_ here for the silk."

"So they do have other intentions, I knew it. Should we be concerned?"

"No, it's nothing harmful."

"Thank goodness."

"Oh, by the way, I need you to go outside and stop Giniro from going into the records room."

"Hm? Why?"

* * *

"We shouldn't be here, Hashirama." Tobirama frowned as his brother scanned row after row of scrolls. They were currently in the ancestry section, though this was only after the older Senju had flipped through half of the ones on the census shelf.

"No luck." Hashirama sighed in defeat after having found no clues in any of the dozens of scrolls he'd skimmed. "Maybe they keep information about the seer somewhere else..."

"Or maybe the rumor is wrong and there is no seer." Tobirama reminded bluntly. "Now let's leave before someone finds us in here."

After a bit of protest, Hashirama reluctantly agreed and followed his brother out of the room.

In just a few moments, the two had left the Imada compound and were speeding back towards their own.

* * *

As agreed upon, the team of Senju medics arrived within the week, each carrying a large load of supplies on their back. They were lead through the main compound and into a single, spacious room where they were to stay.

Thanks to the ever-growing distrust Tobirama had towards the Imada, however, the medics were each told to keep records about their time in the foreign village. Also, due to the fact that getting from the Senju compound to the Imada's was nearly a day's journey, they were to report their condition once a week by carrier pigeon. This was, of course, to ensure their safety as well as to gather information about the reclusive silkmakers.

The first week's report was uneventful, oddly enough. In fact, it was so uneventful that the medics had yet to even see the patient they were supposed to be treating. Upon asking about this, thought, they were simply told to wait.

This unusual news only served to further support Tobirama's sense that something was amiss within the Imada clan, though exactly what, he couldn't tell.

Unfortunately, their strange new trading partner wasn't the only issue the Senjus had on their hands. The clans they were at war with posed an ever-present danger to life inside the compound. The constant flow of injured shinobi and the damage to their numbers was causing a strain on resources.

Being the revered leader that he was, Hashirama was always looking for a way to end all the bloodshed, in addition to his pursuits with the rumored Imada seer, he had been trying to convince his greatest rival and leader of their sworn enemy, Uchiha Madara, to consider a treaty. Though unsuccessful so far, he refused to back down, bringing up the topic each time they clashed, which was, as of late, becoming more and more frequent.

By now, nearly a month had passed since their trade agreement with the Imada officially begun, and the first silk shipment had arrived three days ago. Already, the garments had caused a buzz with the villagers. Despite being locked in three wars at once, the Senju compound was the paragon of a happy town; the wars didn't have much of an impact on the thousands of civilians who never stepped foot outside the fortified walls. This much was evident in the way people flocked to buy the long-out-of-reach silk pieces. Bids climbed into the thousands as the handful of garments were auctioned off, each one seeming more lovely than the last.

Hashirama had asked his brother to pay the silkmakers a visit to thank them for their kindness. Of course, he was also to find any information he could on the seer whose existence he had yet to give up on. Reluctant yet eager to get away from the politics of war, Tobirama agreed and took off for the distant village.

* * *

Sighing as the small wooden gates came into view, the young Senju wondered what he would have to do to convince his brother that he was chasing a ghost.

"Senju-san! I wasn't expecting a visit today!" The smiling face of Toru greeted. After dismissing the servant who had lead the guest to his office, he motioned for him to sit.

"I apologize for the surprise, but my brother insisted on sending his thanks." Tobirama explained, taking a seat in front of the desk.

"What a kind man your brother is." Toru laughed. "And you two are always welcome here, we don't get many visitors."

"Thank you, you're very generous. The pieces you sent a few days ago have already become very popular in our village."

"Is that so? Wonderful! I'm glad we have the chance to share our work with others. Oh, and I never got to thank you for your medics, they really are top of the line!"

"Have they been able to help your friend?"

"They're working on it, I'm sure they'll get there soon."

"If there's a cure, they'll find it."

 _Knock knock_

Toru turned towards the door.

"Come in."

The same woman Tobirama remembered from his last visit stepped inside the office. A tinge of concern crossed Toru's face as he saw her.

"What is it, Mila?" he asked.

"She wants a word." The girl spoke timidly.

"Ah, please tell her I'll be there in just a minute." he said with a small smile.

"She wants a word with Senju-sama."

Toru frowned.

"Excuse me for a moment." he said to his guest before standing and pulling Mila aside. The two had a brief, hushed exchange before turning back to Tobirama, evidently troubled.

"Please come with me."

Confused but intrigued, Tobirama obliged, following the man out the door.

"If I may ask, who is the 'she' you mentioned earlier?" he questioned as they made the way deeper into the building.

"I think that's best left for her to answer." Toru decided, seeming rather uncomfortable.

After a few twists and turns, the trio stopped in front of a pair of tall sliding doors. Tobirama noticed Mila moving to stand to the side while Toru motioned for him to enter, offering a reassuring smile.

Finding the situation incredibly suspicious, the Senju carefully slid open the paper doors and stepped inside the dimly lit room.

Immediately, he felt a wave of chakra hit him and instinctively forced it away from his body. The chakra was intense and seemed to coat every inch of the room, both of which quickly raised red flags.

The only person inside was a woman sitting behind a small low-set table with a lantern to one side, her long black hair was tied back loosely and trailed a short distance behind her. She wore the same kind of kimono Tobirama had seen on other women in the main compound, the kind that only the Imada could make.

Her attention was fixed on a well-worn book in her hands, almost as if she didn't notice him enter.

"Stop that." she said, flipping a page.

Tobirama frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked, making an effort to maintain a polite tone despite his growing discomfort.

"Stop blocking my chakra." she answered simply.

"I don't tend to let strangers' chakra touch me."

The corner of her lips rose into a small smile and, eyes still fixed on her book, she gestured for him to sit.

Deciding it was safe to oblige, Tobirama approached the woman and took the seat across from her. He could feel the lantern's soft glow.

"You and your brother are very impressive leaders. I can't image what it's like being at the head of such a large clan." the woman commented, flipping another page. Ignoring the Senju's suspicious gaze, she continued. "Wars are a terrible thing, aren't they? Especially the ones your clan is in. It's really is a shame; so many dying young, leaving family behind. None of this is news to you, of course, and I know you're looking for a way out of it all. You're not the type to believe in myths and legends, are you? That's why I find it so odd that you're still here. You must have a lot of faith in your brother to keep coming back, following his baseless hunches."

"What's your point?" Tobirama asked sharply. Through her cryptic words, he was getting the sense that she knew more than she let on and it put him on edge, even more so than before.

She turned another page.

"Do you believe in seers, Senju-san?"

He didn't answer.

"Not many people do, these days. Though it seems like your brother does, he probably wouldn't have come here otherwise."

Something was up with this woman and Tobirama had a creeping suspicion that he knew what.

"You're the seer."

A pleased smile crossed her lips.

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" she sang. "Honestly I thought it would take you longer to figure out. But that brings me back to my original point." She flipped another page. "I was born with this... peculiar gift, you see, but at no small price. The heavens decided that they would take something from me in exchange for these abilities."

She slowly closed the book in her hands and set it on the table. Then, for the first time, she looked up at at the man across from her.

Clouded, white eyes landed just off from Tobirama's own. It took him a minute to understand what she had meant.

"You're… blind." he concluded finally.

"Right again." she smiled, tilting her head slightly.

"You've been pretending to read?" he asked, glancing down at the book between them.

"Pretending? Of course not." she frowned indignantly. She flipped open the book and turned it to face him. "The ink is made with chakra, that's how I see."

Tobirama slowly scanned the page and noticed that the words were indeed emitting a faint chakra signature, enough that he would have sensed it earlier had it not been for the ridiculous amounts of chakra already coating the room.

That also explains why she had spread her chakra in such a manner, it must help her see, or rather, sense, her surroundings in a way she wouldn't be able to otherwise.

"That's why I need you to stop blocking my chakra." she explained. "I like to see the people I talk to."

There was a moment of silence between the two.

"My brother wants your help ending the wars. Will you help us?"

"I don't help people I can't see." She answered in a sing-song voice.

Tobirama sighed reluctantly and, going against every instinct he had, slowly lowered the barrier around him. Instantly, he felt the incredibly uncomfortable sensation of foreign chakra molding around him.

The woman grinned as the man's features became clear.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Will you help us?" Tobirama repeated, not wanting to stay a moment longer than he had to.

"Bring your brother next time and we'll talk." she smiled.

Taking this as his cue to leave, the Senju stood and offered a slight bow.

"Then we'll be returning soon, thank you for your time." He turned and made his way to the door, itching to escape the chakra-filled room.

"Tobirama-san."

He paused and looked back at the woman.

"What color are your eyes?"

He raised an eyebrow, briefly wondering if he had heard her right.

"...red." he answered slowly.

She smiled and nodded thoughtfully.

"Interesting… well anyways, I'll see you soon." she waved happily.

* * *

"Tobirama, you're back! How'd it go?" Hashirama greeted, looking up from his paperwork upon hearing the door open.

Tobirama took the seat in front of his brother's desk and sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It turns out you were right."


	3. Three

"Mila."

"Yes miss?"

"Find Toru for me, please."

"Of course miss."

Mila stepped away from her usual spot next to the set of large doors and started towards the clan head's office, the place he could most often be found.

Mila had been born and raised inside the village, much like everyone else in the clan. They were mostly self-sufficient, growing their own food, building their own houses, and, of course, making their own clothes. Due to this as well as their small size, it was no mystery as to why the Imada was not a shinobi clan. Throughout the entire town, there were no more than three dozen shinobi at any time.

Despite this major lack of manpower, the Imada clan had not been involved in war for nearly a century, a fact that Mila was sure had confused more than a few outsiders. After all, they were such an easy target, why had no one tried taking their land yet?

Actually, many people had. Just five years ago, a far larger, far more powerful clan had attempted a raid on the silkmakers. This ended in their scouts being intercepted, their lookouts being killed, and half their militia being destroyed. This, along with many other attacks, was derailed thanks to Aroka, the current Imada clan seer.

Mila had first come to the head family's compound as a servant when she was barely six years old. Her parents, who were both teachers at the smaller of the two academies in town, fell on hard times and were no longer able to take care of her. She was brought to the clan leader at the time, Toru's father, who allowed her to stay with his family on the condition that she worked as a maid. It was during her first year there that she met Aroka. The seer, who was then only a young girl, had been very kind to Mila, and the two grew close. Well, as close as their social differences allowed. It had been nearly fifteen years since then, but she remembered it like it was only yesterday.

 _A six year old Mila padded down the halls of the main compound carefully, carrying a large basin of water. She was headed for the nursery where an infant had just splashed ink all over the walls of her room. The young girl shuffled as fast as she could, trying not to tip the basin; as she turned a corner, she nearly ran into another girl whom she quickly recognized as Aroka, the blind seer._

 _Aroka was born into the main family and was the shining gem of the Imada clan. She was treasured endlessly for her abilities, and because of this Mila never had the chance to speak to her even though she had been here for over six months now._

" _Oh! I-I'm so sorry!" Mila winced as a trail of water splashed onto the ground. "I didn't see you there, miss."_

 _Aroka tilted her head curiously and Mila felt a strange tingle spread over her._

" _What color are your eyes?" She asked._

" _My eyes?" The brunette blinked in surprise. "T-They're green, miss."_

" _Ah! You know, most people here have brown eyes, you're special. I like people with special eyes." Aroka smiled cheerfully. "I have to go now but it was nice meeting you, Mila. Bye-bye!" She waved before stepping over the puddle and brushing past her._

 _Mila stared at the young seer's retreating back, confused yet intrigued by her odd behavior._

' _She seems… different."_

Soon after their first encounter that Mila had been assigned to Aroka as an attendant. She followed the raven haired girl, whom she later found out was than a year younger than her, wherever she went, as the clan leaders thought it best not to leave the blind girl alone so often.

Over the next few years, the two girls would often run around the compound, playing together whenever they got the chance. On their adventures, Mila would describe the color of the sky, the grass, and everything in between, and although her explanations were flimsy at best, Aroka always listened happily.

Over time, for a reason that Mila never understood, Aroka seemed to develop an odd aversion to going outside, and because of this their adventures became fewer and farther between. The young seer would remain in her room most days, usually reading one book or another, while Mila stood patiently outside, waiting to run any errand her friend needed her to. It wasn't the most exciting job by any means, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

As she arrived in front of a familiar office door, Mila shook the nostalgic thoughts from her head and knocked twice.

"Come in." Toru called.

She pushed open the door and bowed slightly.

"Aroka-sama asked to see you."

"Great timing! I was just about to take a break." The young man stood and stepped out of his office, Mila following close behind.

"So how's she been doing?" He asked as they started back towards Aroka's room.

"About the same, although she's been a bit more lively ever since she spoke to Senju-sama two days ago."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, she seems happier whenever we talk and she's been writing more often."

"What about?"

"I'm not sure."

"Hm, maybe she sees something important coming soon. Though I hope she hasn't been Detailing again." He sighed. "No matter how many times I tell her not to, she never listens."

"She assured me that she hasn't, she knows you worry." She smiled softly, pausing as they reached the familiar pair of doors.

"Someone has to, right?" He chuckled. "Anyways, thanks Mila." He nodded, pushing open the paper screen and stepping inside.

He felt the warm wash of chakra envelop him as he took a seat in front of the small table.

"Toru, I haven't seen you in a while." Aroka smiled at him, closing the book in her hands.

"Work has been piling up more than usual, sorry I haven't come by sooner." He smiled sheepishly.

"You'd better not overwork yourself again, you ended up passed out for two days last time, remember?"

"Hey! That was a long time ago!"

"Whatever you say." She shrugged dramatically. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, though. Something's been bugging me for awhile, I thought you might be able to help."

"What is it?"

She shifted and glanced down at the table.

"You remember Senju Tobirama, right?"

He nodded.

"What color are his eyes?"

"They're red, if I remember correctly."

Aroka tilted her head in surprise.

"Really? Are you sure? So he was telling the truth then…" She mused thoughtfully.

"Aroka, did you really ask him what color his eyes were? Some people find that strange, you know." Toru chuckled bemusedly.

"It's not strange! And besides, I've never met anyone with red eyes before. How amazing!" She clasped her hands in excitement. "I was almost sure he was lying, but this great! Oh, what about Hashirama? Does he have red eyes too?"

"No, his are black, I believe." Toru answered, amused at the disappointment that came over her face.

"Not nearly as exciting…" She sighed. "But I still can't wait to talk to them! I'm glad they're coming back so soon."

"Oh? When are they getting here?" He asked curiously.

"Right about-"

 _Knock knock_

"-now."

Toru sighed and shook his head.

"You know, I really wish you would give me a heads up on these kinds of things."

Aroka flashed a toothy grin.

"Let them in, Mila." She called.

The door slid open.

"You weren't kidding when you said there was chakra everywhere." Hashirama laughed as he stepped into the room.

Tobirama only sighed as he followed him in.

"Senju-san, nice to see you again." Toru stood and greeted the two shinobi. "I know you want to speak with my friend here so I'll leave you three alone." He bowed slightly and excused himself.

As the door slid shut behind him, Aroka motioned for the two guests to sit.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to repel my chakra. I've been told it makes shinobi uncomfortable." She turned to Hashirama curiously.

"Tobirama told me it's how you see, it wouldn't be fair if we could see you but you couldn't see us." He grinned.

"Really? I'm surprised you two are brothers, you don't seem to act anything alike, and as far as I can tell you don't look much alike either." She commented, sightless eyes scanning the two shinobi closely.

"It's a mystery of nature, I would say." Hashirama nodded thoughtfully.

"If you really are a seer then I'm sure you know why we're here." Tobirama interjected pointedly.

"Hmm…" Aroka put a finger to her chin and shifted her attention to the younger of the two. "When you say it like that it almost seems like you don't trust me."

He sneered.

"Why should I-"

"What he means is we've never met anyone with your capabilities so we don't quite understand how it works yet." Hashirama cut in, putting on his most convincing grin.

Aroka smiled wryly.

"I was just about to bring that up. I'd love to explain it to you, but Tobirama doesn't seem to have much faith in my abilities." She sighed dramatically, resting her chin in her hand. "I don't really like working with people who don't have faith in me..."

Hashirama elbowed his brother and motioned for him to speak.

Tobirama, after sending him a glare, sighed indignantly.

"I have no doubt about your abilities, please excuse me if it came across that way, Imada-san." He apologized with reluctance.

"Oh that's ok! And call me Aroka, no need for formalities." She grinned brightly. "You wanted to know about how my abilities work, right? Well, the short of it is that I see the past, present, and future as a sort of web of lines, each line represents a person and is accompanied by a name. The closer two lines are to each other, the closer those two people are physically. Each time people interact, their lines cross, each time a person dies, their line ends. It's not very complicated." She explained.

Both brothers nodded intently.

"Now, what are you hoping to find out today?" She smiled.

"Right! Well, I'm sure you already know about the long history of wars our clan has been through. We want to know what we should do to break this cycle, especially regarding our conflict with the Uchiha." Hashirama explained evenly, hoping this would be the break he needed to end the wars.

"Uchiha, huh? You have a history with their leader, don't you?"

On the day the brothers had first visited the Imada village, she took an immediate interest in the two. She had examined Hashirama's line thoroughly, all the way back to his childhood where she noticed it crossed multiple times with that of Madara Uchiha. At first, she thought they were battles, as would be expected of two children of opposing clans, but then she noticed one particular encounter in which the lines belonging to Butsuma Senju, Tobirama, Tajima Uchiha, and Izuna Uchiha were also involved. The two clan leaders famously hated each other, and given that they both had young children with them, it was hard to believe all of them would have walked away alive if they were going all out. That was when she began suspecting the relationship between Hashirama and Madara wasn't as sour as it was supposed to be.

"You know that too?" Hashirama grinned sheepishly. "You're right, we used to be friends."

"I'm assuming you already have an idea of what you want to do. What is it?"

"Well, my plan is to ally with the Uchiha and create a village where clans can live together peacefully, regardless of their past." he explained, eyes gleaming with hope.

"You still haven't answered the question." Tobirama reminded impatiently.

"Ok, ok, no need to get antsy." Aroka held up her hands. "With the way things are right now, it seems that you will get your dream."

His eyes lit up.

"...in about three years."

His face fell and he slumped dramatically upon hearing this.

"Three years?! Is there any way to shorten that?"

"There's always a way." Aroka shrugged. "But it'll take more than a minute if you want anything better than a guess."

"How long will it take?" Tobirama questioned.

"A few days at most. I know you two have plenty of things to take care of back home, so go and come back in... a week, let's say." She offered.

"That would be great!" Hashirama bowed gratefully. "Please do what you can."

"I will. Now, the sooner you leave, the sooner I'll have your answers." Aroka waved them away.

"In that case, we'll see you then." Tobirama nodded before he and Hashirama both stood and bowed.

"Thank you for your time, Aroka!" The latter waved cheerfully. "I look forward to our next meeting."

"Take care." She grinned, sightless eyes following the pair as they walked out of the chakra-coated room.

* * *

"Don't you find it odd that she was so willing to help?"

The Senju brothers had just arrived back at the compound and were heading towards their offices at the center of the village.

"Not really. You're too suspicious of everyone, Tobirama." Hashirama chided lightheartedly. "I just hope she can figure out a way for us to end all these wars."

"We still don't know much about her or her clan, they might have an ulterior motive in helping us."

"I'm not sure what they would stand to gain from any of this."

"Neither am I, but I intend to find out."

"Alright, just try not to get on their bad side. If she can really do what she says she can, then we'll need her help."


	4. Blind Vision

Aroka sat with her head resting against her hand, analyzing the all too familiar sight before her.

It was a black, unremarkable space with nothing particular about it. The only thing filling the otherwise empty void was an unfathomable mass of thin white lines which seemed to stretch infinitely forwards and backwards. As she focused on an individual line, a name would form in her mind, the name of the person whom the line belonged to. She could trace the winding trail up and down, left and right, wherever it went.

As she combed through the clutter of threads, she found the one she was looking for, one that she'd been visiting often lately.

 _Tobirama Senju_

He was interesting.

Aroka had, at first, only taken an interest in him because she was fascinated with the thought of his red eyes, it was times like these that made her really wish she could see, but she had found some intriguing facts about his past that made her even more invested in him.

When tracing his line backwards, she learned that he had a number of siblings whose lines ended very early on. She also gathered that he was a particularly skilled shinobi, as he had triumphed over many who were much older than him.

As she followed his trail forwards, she saw that he had crossed paths with many different people in his life, a significant number of whom saw their lines ended upon meeting his. This was one aspect about him that she didn't much appreciate, but she understood that the world wasn't exactly in an ideal state right now.

It was fascinating to see what life was like for him. Ever since she was young, she had always liked tracing lines, especially ones that belonged to people outside her clan. What did they look like? What were their dreams? What was their favorite color? So many things she would never know. It was such a pity, too. People are so interesting, so complex. There was just so much to know and so little time to know it.

"Miss?"

The voice pulled Aroka from her thoughts.

"Yes Mila?"

"I'm going to retire for the day."

"Oh, is it that late already?" She must have lost track of time. "I'll see you tomorrow then, good night."

"Good night, Miss."

As she listened to the padding of footsteps fade away, Aroka smiled to herself. Mila was such an interesting person. They had met when they were young and Aroka had quickly taken an interest in her green eyes. Soon after, when she was told she would be assigned an attendant, she asked for Mila. She wanted to make a new friend and that was exactly what she got.

" _Aroka, this is Mila. She will be your attendant starting today. She will help you with anything you need, so just ask." Yuto smiled, patting the young seer on the head before leaving the two alone. Yuto was the Imada clan leader at the time._

" _It's an honor to serve you, Aroka-sama." the seven year old Mila squeaked nervously._

" _Oh, thanks! It's nice to see you again." Aroka grinned. "Hey, I have a question. Who else has eyes like yours? You know, special eyes." She leaned forwards curiously._

" _I-I'm not sure." Mila stuttered, caught off guard by the question. "Um, I think Toru-sama has green eyes, but I've only seen him a few times."_

" _I know that, who else?"_

" _I-I think Miss Saya has blue eyes."_

" _Saya? She's the gardener, right? That's so cool! I have to talk to her!" Aroka jumped to her feet and pulled Mila out the door. " C'mon, let's go find her, I know where she is!"_

" _B-But Miss!"_

Times with Mila were always fun. Aroka learned a lot from her over the years, in fact, she was the one who taught Aroka what colors were.

" _Yellow is bright and warm. The sun is yellow, so are flowers." The brunette explained._

 _The two children were lying in a field just outside the village walls. Aroka's eyes were closed as she listened intently._

" _But you said flowers are blue." the young seer remembered._

" _They can be yellow too."_

" _Flowers change colors?"_

 _"No, different flowers have different colors."_

 _"Oh. What color is this one?"_

" _That one's red."_

 _"Red? What does red look like?"_

 _"Well, it's the color of fire, so it's warm."_

" _Warmer than yellow?"_

" _Mhm. And it's the color of your skin when you stay outside too long. Oh! And it's the color of blood too."_

" _Red doesn't sound like a good color…"_

" _Colors are all good, there are no bad ones."_

" _Really? Well, if you say so… Hey, what color are you?"_

 _"What color am I? Well, my skin is kind of peach-colored, between red and yellow, and my hair is brown."_

" _What about me?"_

" _We have about the same color skin but your hair is black."_

" _Oh! You told me about black before!"_

" _I remember."_

" _What color are my eyes?"_

" _They're sort of a cloudy white but they're brown underneath."_

" _Really? Hmm... I wish I could see."_

" _But you can see with your chakra right?"_

" _Kind of, but not in color. Everything's just outlines, plus it's really hard to see outside. Yuto-sama says people are uncomfortable when I touch them with my chakra, so I can only do it inside the house."_

" _Oh, I didn't know that… I don't think it's uncomfortable."_

" _Really? Thanks, I just-"_

" _Aroka! Where have you been! Father's been looking for you!" A boy around ten years old ran up to them frantically._

" _I know, I know. We're coming." Aroka sighed and pushed herself up from the grass begrudgingly. "Thanks a lot, Toru."_

" _Don't blame me when dad gets mad!" The boy stuck out his tongue playfully before dashing ahead._

" _Hey! Get back here!" she yelled, chasing after him._

She gazed at the past lines fondly, remembering what it was like when they were younger.

She stifled a yawn, blinking slowly. It must be late, maybe she should go to bed early today.

* * *

"You agreed to help them?" Toru asked in disbelief.

"Of course, what they're trying to do is a good thing." Aroka tilted her head in confusion. "Why so surprised?"

"People have come looking for you in the past but you've never revealed yourself to any of them. Not only did you do that for the Senjus, but you want to help them too? What's so special about them?"

"Just trust me, alright? I know what I'm doing." She smiled reassuringly.

Toru sighed and shook his head.

"Just be careful, ok?"

"It's a promise." She winked. "They'll be here in just a minute, I'm sure you have work to get back to."

"Always." He sighed, disheartened. "I'll see you later then?"

"I'll be here." She gave him a thumbs up as he stood and retreated from the room.

Not five minutes later, Aroka sensed two strong chakra sources approaching.

"Miss-"

"Let them in." she called.

The doors slid open and she smiled as her chakra molded around two figures.

"Aroka! It's great to see you again!" Hashirama greeted cheerfully, taking a seat in front of the seer.

"Good to see you too!" She grinned before turning to the other man. "And I didn't forget about you, Tobirama." she sang.

The said man held back a grimace.

"Anyways, I found what you wanted, a way to end the wars quickly. Turns out it wasn't as complicated as I'd thought."

"That's great! What do we need to do?" Hashirama asked eagerly.

"When you return home in three days, you're going to find yourselves in a battle with some Uchiha shinobi. If you want to cozy up to Madara, a good way to start is by _not_ killing his brother." She smiled.

"What? I'm going to kill Izuna?" Hashirama frowned in concern.

"Not you. Him." She pointed a finger at Tobirama.

"If I have the chance, I _will_ kill him." the younger Senju stated firmly.

"Not if you want an alliance you won't."

"You mean all we have to do is keep Izuna alive for peace to happen?" Hashirama asked, as if it were too good to be true.

"For a while, yes. Turns out his brother's death would cause major issues between your clans. Who knew?" She chuckled.

"What's the best way to do it? Should we avoid the battle entirely?"

Aroka paused for a moment, eyes darting around as if looking for something.

"No, doing that will only encourage them to attack again. The best way is probably just to be careful during the battle." she advised, nodding to herself.

"Alright, we'll keep that in mind."

Hashirama paused, seeming to remember something.

"You mentioned we would be going home in three days, we were planning on leaving in just a few hours…"

"Really? Well, sorry to break it to you, but a storm is on its way, seems pretty big too."

 _ **Boom**_

A sharp crack of thunder shook the room.

"You can predict the weather too?" Tobirama asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but the forecast can." She smiled snidely.

"We did see some heavy clouds earlier, I just didn't think it would be so bad." Hashirama recalled. "Would we be able to stay here until the skies clear up?"

"Of course, we have plenty of spare rooms." She grinned. "Mila, please find our friends somewhere to stay."

The door slid open and the said woman bowed lightly.

"Yes Miss." She stepped aside. "Please follow me, Senju-sama."

"It's getting late, sleep well you two." Aroka waved as the brothers thanked her and followed Mila out the door.

"Your rooms are over here." The brunette said softly as they proceeded down the hall and rounded a corner. "If you need anything, please just call and someone will be with you."

"Thank you." Hashirama grinned. "We'll turn in soon. Good night!"

"Good night, sir." Mila bowed to both men and retreated back down the hall.

* * *

Tobirama had trouble sleeping that night. The unfamiliar surroundings put him on guard, not to mention the thunderstorm outside was loud enough to vaporize any chance of sleep he might have had.

He stood from his bed and slid open the door. The rain was coming down like a brick wall, they would certainly have been drenched if they had left as intended. He stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him.

The walkway was dark and damp, only illuminated by the moonlight filtering in from the connected courtyard. The only sound that could be heard above the crashing of the rain was a faint, almost unnoticeable tapping. He rounded the corner and glanced down the hall, where the noise was coming from. He noticed one of the doors was wide open.

As he approached, he realized it was also the room that radiated chakra, the seer's. He stopped a few feet away from the door, briefly wondering what the tapping noise was before it stopped.

"You're going to catch a cold out there." a familiar voice called from inside.

He stepped in front of the open door cautiously. Though the only light in the room was streaming in from outside, he could make out Aroka's form sitting behind the low table, attention turned to the book in her hand.

"You can come in if you ever get tired of standing."

He didn't move, only continued to peer at the woman, as if trying to figure something out.

"I get it." She sighed dramatically, closing her book. "You don't like my chakra touching you, huh? Yea, it makes a the shinobi here uncomfortable too. Just come in, I'll keep it off you." she offered.

Hesitantly, Tobirama took a step into the room and was relieved when the invasive wash of chakra didn't come over him. He approached the table and sat in the same spot he had earlier that day.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked with arms crossed.

"I can see your line, remember?" She quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"Why was your door open?"

"I like listening to the rain."

"What are you doing up this late?"

"I don't fall asleep easily."

"Did you know I was coming?"

"Of course I did."

"Why did you ask me to come in?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Aroka tilted her head, a small smile on her lips. "But if you must know, I had something to ask you."

He raised an eyebrow, motioning for her to continue.

"What color are these flowers?" She turned to a small vase next to her desk.

Tobirama paused.

Had he heard her right?

"That's your question?" He frowned.

"Is there a problem?"

"...no." he answered slowly. "They're white."

A small smile spread across her face as she gazed at the small bouquet.

"Mila got it for me earlier today, she knows I like flowers. I can't see them though. The flowers around here aren't very strong, so touching them with chakra makes them die pretty quickly."

Tobirama then noticed that, besides himself, the vase was indeed the only thing in the room not covered with the woman's chakra.

"If you can't see them, why do you like them so much?" he asked.

"Because they can be all sorts of colors." Aroka grinned cheerily. "I like colors too. They're interesting, don't you think?"

"Is that why you asked about my eye color?" he inquired, recalling their first meeting.

"You remember that?" She laughed sheepishly. "Sorry if that was strange, Toru always did say it made people uncomfortable."

"Do you know him well? You two were speaking before our last meeting."

Aroka hummed happily.

"We've been friends since we were kids, being from the main branch and all. He visits me often even though his office is across the building."

Tobirama nodded and a silence fell between them.

After a minute, it was Aroka who finally spoke up.

"You still don't trust me." she mused.

"What makes you say that?"

"It doesn't take a seer to know you're not the trusting type, Tobirama." she smiled humorlessly. "Why is that?"

The man narrowed his eyes.

"You tell me." he challenged.

Aroka hummed and paused for a moment.

"Maybe it's because you grew up surrounded by war. In times like those it's only natural to be suspicious of everyone." she thought aloud. "Or maybe it's because you see so many of your own people die, after all, what's the point of getting to know someone who's going to be gone the next day? Maybe it's the pressure of being the second born, always expected to live up to Hashirama's precedent but never being able to. Or maybe it's because of your younger brothers-"

"Enough." he cut her off, standing abruptly, his eyes narrowed. "What are you up to?" he demanded.

The seer only smiled.

"I can't read thoughts, Tobirama, only actions."

"And?" he glared.

"And that means I value honesty more than anything. As good as your intentions might be, I won't work with someone I can't trust to be honest." she explained, almost as if it were a warning.

"I'll be as honest as I need to be." he retorted. "You'll know everything you need to help us end the wars."

Aroka sighed and shook her head.

"That might not be so easy to judge."

"We'll see about that." He frowned, turning towards the door.

Just as he was about to step through the open doorway, Aroka spoke again.

"The future can be unpredictable, you know."

Tobirama glanced back at her but she was looking past him, pale eyes fixed on the rain. Without a word, he turned again and continued out of the room.

Aroka sighed softly and closed her eyes. The invasive padding of raindrops filled the room as she rested her head against her hand. The night air was cold and damp, the only things to keep her company were the cracks of thunder and unrelenting rain. As the storm continued its rage, Aroka lifted her eyes and smiled to herself, index finger tapping against the dark wood table.


	5. Rainy Days

As the sun rose the next day, Hashirama yawned and rolled out of bed which, having been complete with silk sheets and cushions, had quickly become his close friend and he was reluctant to leave it.

Last night's downpour was still coming down steadily, as was evident from the loud pitter-patter outside.

Hashirama groggily slid open the screen door and nearly ran into a small boy carrying a tray of food.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't see you there kid." He grinned apologetically.

The boy, who was no more than ten years old, smiled in return.

"It's ok mister, sorry for surprising you." He bowed.

"It was nothing. Need any help with that?" Hashirama asked, glancing down at the wooden tray in his hands; it held a few small bowls with different foods in them.

"No thanks, sir. I do this all the time! Miss Aroka is always happy when I bring her food." He grinned, blue eyes shining with pride.

"Oh? Aroka eats in her room often?" Hashirama asked curiously.

"Yep, she's in there a lot, I don't think she goes outside much." the boy confirmed with a nod. "Anyways, I should get this to her, I have a bunch of chores to do. Nice meeting you, mister!" He smiled before scurrying down the hall and around the corner.

"Who was that?" Tobirama asked, stepping out of his room and peering down the walkway.

"I'm not sure..." He hummed.

"Senju-sama."

The brothers turned to see a familiar brunette approaching.

"Oh, good morning Mila." the older of the two greeted with a smile.

"Good morning. Toru-sama wants you to know that both of you are welcome to do as you please during your time here. Everything in our village is open to you."

"That's great, please thank him for us." Hashirama nodded. "We'd actually like to speak with Aroka again."

"We do?" Tobirama raised an eyebrow, only to receive an elbow to the ribs.

"Do you think she'll mind?" The elder maintained a bright grin.

"I'm sure she'd be happy to have company." Mila smiled softly. "Please follow me."

The young woman lead the pair back down the hall and to the room they had been in yesterday. Stopping in front of the double doors, she knocked twice before hearing a 'come in.' She slid the doors open and moved aside to allow the brothers to enter.

"Well if it isn't my favorite Senju." Aroka looked up from her breakfast as they stepped into the room. "Did you sleep well?"

"We did, our rooms were more than comfortable."

"That's good to hear. So, what brings you here so early?" she asked, resting a hand under her chin.

"We were hoping to learn a bit more about your abilities. I think it'll be easier for us to work together if we understood them better."

Aroka nodded and put a finger to her chin.

"Well let's see… future events can usually be gleaned from people's interactions with one another, though it's not always obvious. The 'future' I see is really just the most likely timeline at the moment so it _can_ change, though not usually by a lot."

"How can someone change the timeline?" Tobirama questioned.

Aroka looked over to him, through her eyes were slightly off from his.

"By doing something out of character. If someone usually goes for a walk every morning at the same time and one day, without any reason, simply decides not to, it's possible that action was out of character enough for the timeline to have not predicted it. It doesn't happen very often but it's not too rare either."

"You said these changes aren't usually very big?" Hashirama recalled.

"The timeline is good at predicting what people will do, and even when they stray from the norm it's usually in a small, insignificant decision. They're much more likely to stick to their gut when deciding on something important. Of course, small decisions can sometimes cause big shifts in the future, but that's not always the case." Aroka nodded to herself.

"Can you tell what people are going to say when you talk to them?"

"No, all I can see is who interacts with who and when it happens. I don't know any details of what those interactions are about besides what I can infer, of course."

"You can tell a lot about people just from their interactions?"Hashirama asked curiously. "What can you tell about me?"

Aroka paused for a moment and hummed thoughtfully.

"There's a woman you're often close to back in your village, Mito, I assume she's your wife. She gave birth to your first child around a month ago. Congratulations. You interact with your clansmen often, not just the shinobi, so I can tell you're a diligent leader. You have frequent meetings with the same group of… sixteen people, probably your clan's council or elders. Besides that, there aren't a lot of people you seem to contact regularly, so I gather you don't have many close friends." Aroka looked back to Hashirama expectantly. "So how did I do?"

"You're good! I didn't think you could actually tell so much! I guess you're the real deal." He beamed, laughing heartily. "What can you tell about Tobirama?"

The younger man shot his brother a glare and opened his mouth to speak but Aroka beat him to it.

"Well, he isn't around people very often unless it's during battle, so I can assume he has even fewer friends, if any. I suppose that's inevitable when you don't trust anyone. He tends to have very brief interactions with most people outside his immediate circle. He can stay up for days on end and spends a lot of time in what I guess is his office. He's pretty fast too, it seems. During battles his line moves so sporadically it gives me a headache just looking at it." she concluded, shaking her head. "Oh, and he has a girlfriend."

There was a moment of silence in the room.

"What?!" both men shouted in unison.

"You do?!"

"Of course not!"

"A fiancé then?"

"No! Why would you think that?"

"You spend a lot of time with Atsuko to not be involved." She shrugged suggestively. "And a lot of nights too."

"Atsuko?" Hashirama gasped gleefully, eyes gleaming with joy. "I didn't know you two were together! This is great! I was actually-"  
"Brother!" Tobirama cut in. "Atsuko works as an assistant to both of us, we've not involved." he stated firmly.

"Whatever you say." Aroka sang. "But anyways, those are the types of things I can usually infer about people. It's not much, but it can be important in the right situations."

Hashirama nodded thoughtfully once he refocused himself from his moment of delight.

"You can predict battles then? That must be why your clan has avoided war for so long…"

"That's right." Aroka nodded. "It happens every so often, the latest attempted attack was a bit less than two years ago."

"What happened?" he asked, intrigued.

"A few dozen men tried to invade from the North side of the village one night. They were strong but they didn't expect an ambush." She smiled, pale eyes darting around the room briefly. "Well, as much as I love speaking with you both, I have a meeting with someone in just a few minutes. It'll take a while but you're welcome to come back later if you have any more questions."

"Oh, of course. We'll get out of your way." Hashirama stood, followed by Tobirama. "Thank you for your time, please excuse us."

The pair bowed lightly and retreated from the room, nodding to Mila as they passed by.

"Did something happen with you two?" Hashirama asked casually as they turned down the hallway.

"What do you mean?"

"Her chakra wasn't touching you back there and I doubt it was by accident."

"Really? I didn't notice." he answered halfheartedly.  
"Well whatever it is, just try to stay on her good side, alright? We need her help."

Tobirama only hummed at his brother's concerns.

Just then, the two noticed a familiar blonde approaching from the opposite direction.

"Oh, Samaru, right?" Hashirama recalled the woman from their first visit. "Nice to see you again."

"Senju-sama, I heard you were staying here." She bowed respectfully. "The storm might not clear up for another few days." She glanced to the heavy curtain of rain that showed no sign of easing up, deep gray clouds hanging overhead.

"That's what Aroka said too. Hopefully we won't be a burden." Hashirama smiled gratefully.

The woman's eyes widened.

"You've met Aroka-sama?" she asked, surprised.

"A few times, actually." He nodded. "Is something wrong?"

Samaru hesitated for a moment.

"No, not at all. She usually keeps to herself is all." Her eyes cast down briefly. "Oh, I can show you around the compound if you'd like. These halls can be a bit confusing." she offered with a smile.

"If it's no bother, that would be great!"

The trio trailed through a number of corridors, stopping every so often for Samaru to point out something notable. They passed by the council's board room, the silk weaving chambers, and the garment storage space which the brothers remembered from their first visit. As they reached a walkway that faced the east side of the village, Samaru pointed to a series of adjacent buildings that were connected to the main compound by a narrow hall.

"Those are the silkmakers' living spaces. Right now we have just under thirty weavers. There are others in the village that don't work directly for the main family, but the ones that do have access to some the best tools and materials there are."

"How do you choose which silkweavers are employed here?" Tobirama questioned, glancing at the building that looked remarkably similar to main compound.

"Every year we hold a test that anyone can participate in. Those looking to join our silkmakers are asked to bring one of their finished garments to be examined. Then they are given three hours to make a length of silk that will also be judged for quality. Our current team of weavers will choose the five best garments and the five best pieces of silk, if both of someone's submissions are placed in the respective top fives, they'll be able to join our ranks. Over a hundred participants come every year, it's very popular as the village has a lot of independent silkmakers." She finished with a nod.

"How many people usually make it?" Hashirama asked.

"Usually one, if any. The most I've ever seen is two, but that's only happened once before."

"Must be a difficult test." Tobirama mused as they continued to yet another part of the compound.

"Silk is hard to make, not everyone can do it." Samaru agreed.

"Do you know the weavers well?"

"Some of them, yes. My mother used to be one, actually, she was one of the best we've ever had." She smiled sadly. "She died three years ago."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Hashirama frowned sympathetically.

"It was a long time ago." She breathed. "Anyways, right ahead of us is the kitchen and dining rooms. We have some very talented kitchen staff, they make enough to feed all of us everyday and they never disappoint!"

* * *

"Please turn around, Miss." one of the medics instructed.

Aroka compiled and shifted in her seat.

"I need to examine your back please."

She sighed quietly and undid her kimono, allowing it to fall to her waist. She felt the cold sensation of metal against her spine as the medic slowly dragged the instrument up and down, left and right.

"Open your eyes wide."

She did so and the women, clad in white, shone a light into her clouded pupils. They watched closely as they moved the light away, then back again, then away again before clicking it off and scribbling something in their notebooks.

"I'll need to take a blood sample."  
Aroka held out her arm and soon felt a tiny prick. After about thirty seconds, the discomfort dulled as the medic pulled out the needle and quickly wrapped the area in bandages. She slid the small vile of blood into a white cloth bag and tucked it away.

"That'll be all for today, Miss. We'll let you know if we need anything else."

The four medics stood and bowed before slowly filing out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Aroka sighed and pulled her kimono back over her shoulders.

'What a pain.' she thought as she rubbed her now bandaged arm.

She didn't like being studied under a microscope, something that these medics, given that it was their job, were very good at it. Every week they would check her pulse, check her heartbeat, check her eyes, check her hands, check everything they possibly could. But as much as she disliked this weekly poking and prodding, she did it willingly so Toru wouldn't try to convince her to. Believe it or not, arguing with him was more tiring than being micromanaged by those doctors.

Today's session was not unlike any previous ones, though one thing did make it a bit more interesting: one of the team was missing. Being the curious mind that she was, Aroka found and traced the fifth medic's line which, surprisingly, lead her straight to her favorite red-eyed Senju. What were they talking about? Sure, they could just be old friends catching up, but _somehow_ she knew that wasn't the case. Resisting the urge to Detail for answers, Aroka decided to leave it alone for now; if it was important, she would find out soon enough.

Reaching out to her right, she tilted her head lazily as her fingers brushed against the now wilted flowers.


	6. A New Player

After three days of ceaseless downpour, the skies finally cleared enough for the Senju brothers to make their way home. Barely an hour from their compound, however, the two encountered a small band of Uchiha shinobi, just as Aroka had predicted and, true to her word, they had Izuna at their head.

Glancing at each other, the brothers nodded.

Hashirama charged at Izuna, pulling him away from the rest of his men whom Tobirama didn't hesitate to engage. Though they were outnumbered, the brothers knew that they vastly outclassed the Uchihas, even without their weapons. Izuna knew this as well, but running away wouldn't reflect well on his clan, so he needed to rely on strategy instead of strength.

The young Uchiha knew something was wrong the minute the battle began: Hashirama had been the one to move to confront him, not Tobirama. There was simply no way the younger Senju would have passed up an opportunity to fight him.

Something was up, he just didn't know what.

Narrowly dodging a blow to the back, Izuna leapt up and spit a fireball at Hashirama before charging in after it. He unsheathed his sword and swiped at his chest, knowing that his best chance at getting out alive was to stick to short-range combat and to keep his opponent from gaining the distance he would need for an offensive jutsu. Without a sword, Hashirama would have a bit more difficulty dealing with close combat than usual, Izuna just had to take advantage of that.

Tobirama, a short distance away, had his hands full dealing with the remaining three Uchiha. From the looks of it, all three were experienced, higher level shinobi whose abilities he couldn't take lightly.

The largest of the trio attacked first, spitting out a stream of fire directly towards the Senju and following it with a barrage of shuriken.

Darting to the right, Tobirama caught a punch from another Uchiha before twisting away and clasping his hands together. Ribbons of water materialized and spun themselves into a large dragon which launched itself at the first man, unaffected by the weapons thrown at it, while Tobirama turned his attention to the other two.

Charging at the same time, the Uchihas split and attacked from opposite sides. One of them threw a dozen flaming stones while the other blew out a single blazing fireball. Both moved at lightning speed and collided almost instantly, causing a blinding explosion.

A mixture of dust and mist clouded the air for a brief moment before a gust of wind swept them away. The Uchihas' eyes darted around the area, an intense red, searching frantically for the source of the wind. Suddenly, their movements ceased and they collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from where icicles had impaled their bodies. Tobirama pulled his eyes away from his fallen enemies and turned his attention towards the other altercation happening not ten meters away.

Hashirama took another step back just in time to dodge Izuna's sword. He caught the butt of the handle and twisted it in an attempt to disarm him, but the Uchiha only spun with it before aiming a kick at his stomach. Leaping backwards once again, Hashirama racked his brain for a subtle way to get out of this situation before he could no longer avoid a real battle, but just as the thought crossed his mind, something was thrown onto the ground in front of him.

Both men jumped back right as the object exploded and thick black smoke clouded their eyes.

Realizing he only had a moment before Izuna's sharingan saw through the smoke, Hashirama leapt out of the clearing and onto a tall branch, and noticing that his brother had the same idea, continued retreating deeper into the forest.

"That was some quick thinking back there." Hashirama grinned at his brother, offering a thumbs up. "I was starting to get worried about how that would end."

The pair had gotten away from Izuna and, after making sure they weren't being followed, were once again headed back towards their compound. Tobirama seemed concerned, however, as his brows had been drawn ever since they had emerged from the smoke bomb.

"It wasn't me."

Hashirama frowned in confusion.

"It… wasn't you?" He repeated slowly. "I mean, I only saw it for a second but it looked exactly like one of our smoke bombs." He recalled glimpsing the small gray orb just as it hit the ground at his feet, right before it exploded.

"There was someone else there, I saw them out of the corner of my eye." Tobirama shook his head in frustration.

"You did? Did you see what they looked like?"

He shook his head again.

"It was a blur, they were fast."

"That's odd…" Hashirama hummed, unable to think of any reason someone would intervene like that. "We'll have to figure it out later, right now let's just focus on getting home."

* * *

"Aguri, how did the meeting go?" a young brunette asked as the said woman entered the room.

"As planned. Tobirama-san just asked for an update on the patient." the old woman, Aguri, answered, easing herself into a chair.

"Speaking of which, Ina's testing the samples we took yesterday." the brunette nodded towards the adjacent room.

Through the opened door, she could see a woman, a number of years her senior, staring intently at something on the table in front of her while a machine beeped softly just out of sight.

Aguri glanced around the room; five beds draped with cream silk sheets sat all in a row along one side of the room, just over a foot of space between each. On the opposite wall were shelves stocked with all types of medical supplies, from gloves to glassware to disinfectants. Next to the shelves stood the door that lead into the smaller connected room, a workspace that was empty save for a filing cabinet and two large desks opposite each other.

"Tsuchi, where are the other two?" she asked.

"Kumi and Sute? They're meeting with Imada-sama." Tsuchi, the younger, replied.

"I thought we gave him an update a few days ago."

"We did, I have no idea what they're talking about." she shrugged.

As if on cue, the door slid open and two middle aged women, presumably Kimi and Sute, stepped into the room, but before anyone could ask them about their meeting, Kimi, the shorter of the two, spoke up.

"He wants to speak to us. All of us." she announced, bearing a rather grim expression.

"Is something wrong?" Agari asked with concern.

"He'll explain." Sute stated shortly, motioning for her to follow as she turned and started back down the hall.

Ina, who had poked her head out from the smaller room, exchanged worried glances with the other two before quickly shuffling after Sute.

The team of five weaved through the halls at a brisk pace, not a word exchanged between them. Upon arriving at the familiar office door, Sute knocked twice before entering.

Toru looked up from the scattered papers on his desk and gave the women a small smile, motioning for them to sit down.

"I'm glad all of you are here." he greeted as Agari closed the door behind her.

"You asked to speak with us?"

"Yes, now it's very important that you keep this quiet, alright? Nothing we discuss today can leave this room."

The women, now slightly suspicious, glanced at each other before nodding slowly.

"Excellent. Well, as you know, it's been a number of months since you've come here and you still haven't been able to improve my friend's condition. I had hoped to see at least some progress by now."

"Sir, we just need a bit more time, she-"

"As I said upon your arrival, time is not on our side for this one. But that's why I called you here today. Seeing as our efforts so far have been fruitless, I'd like to try a new treatment method…"

He unrolled a length of parchment and lay it out on his desk for the women to see.

Agari stared at the worn scroll in disbelief.

"...s-sir, there's no way we can do that." She looked up at him wide-eyed.

"I know it sounds bad, but it's possible that this can buy her some more time. At the rate she's deteriorating, I would say she only has a decade left at the very most, this can give her a few more years which would be absolutely invaluable to us." Toru explained, gesturing to the faded page filled with diagrams and scrawled text.

"No, no, sir, this is far too risky for Miss Aroka." Sute shook her head adamantly. "There's no telling how she would respond to a new stimulus like this, it can cause panic and disorientation and it can make her unpredictable."

"Have you done an operation like this before?" Toru questioned.

"Not on a patient with her condition."

"Then there's no reason to think she'll react so negatively to it. Even if she does, I'll assign additional security to her so she doesn't do anything to hurt herself." He shrugged.

"Sir, the risk is far too great at this point. If we do this now and she ends up reacting badly to it, that's a decade less time than she would have had. Please, if you really think this can work, wait until her condition progresses some more. At that point, trying this procedure would be worth it regardless of her reaction." Ina reasoned.

Toru gazed down at the old scroll, remaining silent for a moment before sighing loudly.

"Alright, I see your point. We'll wait." he finally agreed. "Well, that's all, you're dismissed."

The five quickly stood and bowed before swiftly filing out of the office.

"What the hell is wrong with him?!" Tsuichi yelled once they were out of earshot. Her brows were knit, bewildered at the man's logic. "He really thinks he knows anything about operations like that?"

"Calm down, people are illogical when they're desperate. He just wants to help his friend." Kimi chided. "I'm sure he meant well."

"I doubt it." Tsuichi scoffed. "And did you see those diagrams? Whoever thought that up was an amateur at best, there's no way they knew what they were doing."

"I agree, but at least we talked him out of it. Maybe he'll take the time to think it over and realize how bad an idea it is." Ina sighed in exasperation.

As they bickered, Agari remained silent, barely aware of the conversation around her. Her mind was stuck on that scroll. Disturbing as they were, she wasn't much concerned with the diagrams, it was the words that struck her. For some reason, reading those scribbled notes gave her the unsettling impression that whoever wrote them weren't describing something that might be tested, but rather something that already had been.

* * *

A young man silently watched the young attendant from high up on one of the courtyard's trees. He watched her stand dutifully in front of the double screen doors, still and unmoving. For a woman who wasn't a shinobi, she certainly had impressive composure.

"Mila."

The man heard the faint voice from behind the doors call out. He watched as the brunette turned and opened the screen partially, just enough for him to catch a glimpse of the person he was really interested in.

The woman inside, who was seated in the center of the dark room, said something indistinguishable to the attendant who nodded in response before walking off in the direction of what he came to know as the center of the compound.

Even from his distance, the young man could tell the room was absolutely flooded with chakra, amounts that would be formidable even among high ranking shinobi. He had not observed anyone else in the reclusive clan having such large reserves.

 _'This must be what the boss is looking for.'_

The woman didn't seem to do much, in fact she hadn't even left that room since he began watching her two days ago. He wondered why this would be the case; she didn't seem to have any duties of a shinobi nor those of a clan leader, but she was clearly important enough to have a personal attendant as well as receive regular visits from the clan head.

Who was she, exactly?

It was only when the sky began to dim did he notice how much time had passed.

He stood up from his position and leapt away, landing on a tree just outside of the main compound. Quickly, the young man made his way out of the village through the scattered treetops and continued through the forest, zipping through the steadily thickening foliage as if he didn't notice it at all.

* * *

A large set of gates came into view. The young man approached and, nodding at the guards in recognition, slipped into the large, imposing compound behind them.

He wove through the heavy afternoon crowds, making a beeline for what was certainly the largest, most impressive building in the village.

He entered the traditional wooden structure, taking numerous twists and turns, and found himself in front of a formidable wooden door.

Knocking twice, he heard a deep 'come in' sound from inside.

Pushing open the heavy mahogany door, the man bowed deeply before daring to speak.

"Sir, I believe I've found the person you're looking for." he reported.

The figure behind the desk stared expectantly.

"There's an woman who lives inside the Imada main compound with an unusually large chakra reserve and strange behavior. She's also had recent contact with Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, as you said."

The man smirked and leaned back in his chair.

"Hashirama you sneaky bastard…" he muttered snidely. "Well done, Nao, you're dismissed."

"If I may ask, Madara-sama," the younger man spoke carefully, "Is she an ally of the Senjus?"

Madara smiled humorlessly, a mischievous glint crossing his eyes.

"For now."


	7. Early Morning Encounters

"Mila."

"Yes, Miss?"

"What time is it?"

"It's dawn, the sun's just rising."

"You're early."

"I woke up a while ago, I thought I would just come out."

Aroka blinked lazily, pale brown eyes boring into green ones.

"You're never early." she tilted her head. "What's wrong?"

Mila smiled sheepishly, slightly embarrassed she had been caught.

"How did you know?" she asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Just a guess." Aroka shrugged, waving her in. "Sit down, what's on your mind?"

Mila stepped into the dark room, unbothered by the warm wash of chakra, and gently shut the door behind her. She took a seat in front of the low table.

"I've... just been thinking about my parents." Mila sighed, staring at her lap.

"You haven't seen them in a while."

"Three years. I was hoping you might be able to tell how they're doing." she glanced up timidly.

"You could ask them yourself, you know. They only live a few minutes away."

Mila shook her head.

"You know Toru doesn't like it when I leave the compound. Besides, I'm not going to leave you alone."

"Then we'll go together, if he asks just tell him it was my idea, he won't say anything." Aroka smiled. "What do you say?"

"Are you sure? But you won't be able to see." Mila frowned, knowing her friend never used chakra outside. The previous clan leader, when he thought Aroka wasn't around, would often complain about how strange her chakra felt, something the young seer took to heart. She was around twelve when she stopped using her chakra outside and, by no coincidence, also began spending less time away from her room.

"I'll be fine! Besides, you'll be there to make sure I don't walk into a wall, right?" Aroka chuckled cheerfully. "Come on, let's go!"

Aroka bounced up from her seat and walked over to Mila, playfully waving for her to hurry.

The pair started towards the door and, just before they stepped into the walkway, Aroka paused, recollecting her chakra from the room.

Instantly, the vague outlines of the interior disappeared from her mind, leaving her in a state of true blindness.

Aroka felt a warm hand curl around her arm and softly urge her forward.

"I've got you." Mila's voice reassured.

Nodding with determination, Aroka stepped into the walkway and turned in step with her friend, both of them heading towards the compound's main exit.

For the blind seer, each sightless step was careful and hesitant. She was used to being able to make out a general picture of her surroundings by the way her chakra molded around objects, and having that taken away was… uncomfortable. But that didn't matter. Mila wanted to see her parents and Aroka was determined to help her.

After what felt like an eternity, the pair finally stepped foot outside. Aroka felt the warm light from the morning sun envelop her, almost making her forget about the cold autumn air.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Mila reminded as they continued their leisurely walk into the quiet town.

"You wouldn't have gone alone." Aroka nudged her playfully, earning a chuckle from the woman.

A comfortable silence settled between the two, and by the time they arrived at Mila's old home, the sun had crept a bit higher into the sky, now fully illuminating the small, aged building.

Mila stared at the house warily, almost unsure if she should be here at all.

"Don't start having second thoughts now." Aroka teased, patting her back. "Go."

The brunette gave a nervous smile before taking a few steps towards the house.

"Hm?" She turned back upon noticing Aroka wasn't following her. "What's wrong?"

"I'd better stay out here. Your parents don't like me very much, remember?" the seer smiled at the memory of what happened last time she met Mila's parents.

"What? I can't leave you by yourself. What if something happens?"

"Hey, I'm blind, not a baby. Besides, I can see danger from a mile away." she grinned, bringing a finger to her head. "I'll be fine, don't worry about a thing." She gave her a light push in the direction of the old house.

Hesitantly, Mila turned and continued forward. Once she reached the door, she knocked lightly before glancing back at her friend who, much to her surprise, was nowhere in sight.

A middle aged man with short white hair opened the door.

"...Mila? Is that you?" he squinted. "My goodness! What are you doing here? Come in, come in! Honey, come quick! Mila's here!" he called before eagerly sweeping her inside.

Aroka smiled as she watched her friend's line meet her father's, then her mother's. From the motion of the three lines, the small family seemed to have sat down together. They do have quite a bit to catch up on.

Mila came to the main household when she was very young. Aroka remembered seeing a new white line enter her focus that day, she watched it curiously as it crossed with those of the housekeeper, the head maid, and a number of other servants in the household. The compound didn't get many visitors so this was a curious situation for the young seer. After following the line labelled "Mila Imada" for a while, she concluded that this girl must be a new servant. This was reaffirmed when she traced the line back; her family seemed to associate mostly with the clan's less affluent members which suggested that they were rather poor and, from the look of her parent's lines, they both worked long hours, leaving little time to care for their young daughter.

For as long as Mila had been with the main family, she had been an excellent worker: always diligent, hardworking, and devoted. Aroka had always liked her and being so close in age was a big bonus too; it was nice to have someone to talk to, even if that someone was essentially obligated to listen.

Aroka refocused her vision back onto the present day where she watched as Mila's line shifted mildly with her parents. A small distance away sat her own line, trailing a straight path as the few that were around it moved in smooth curves. She could hear the soft chatter of passersby as they went about their morning walks and errands.

It was still rather early so there weren't too many lines around at the moment, which is why she noticed immediately when a new one entered her vision, one that definitely stood out.

"Hello miss, sorry to bother you but do you happen to know where the main compound is?" a soft masculine voice asked.

From the position of his line, she could tell he was right next to her.

"I'm sorry, I don't." she half lied. "Are you looking for someone in particular?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to meet with Imada Toru. He wanted to discuss a trade deal he'd proposed." the man answered.

"Is that so? How interesting." she smiled, tilting her head. "What's your name?"

"Takahashi Yuuto." he replied. "And you?"

"...Takahashi Yuuto…" Aroka repeated, ignoring the question. "I didn't know the Takahashi clan was interested in our silks. If I remember correctly, they always favored trading for weapons from the southern lands." she mused, tapping a finger to her chin.

The man paused.

"There has been a greater demand for luxury products in my clan, our leader is looking to trade for a number of such goods, including your clan's silk." he responded after a moment.

"Ah, I see. So you're not looking for the seer." she hummed, nodding slowly.

"Seer?"

"Oh, it's just that two men from another clan came here a few months ago looking for our clan's seer." Aroka shrugged nonchalantly. "Or so I've heard anyways."

"Really? I didn't know there was a seer in the Imada clan."

"It's a bit of a secret. I'm not sure how those two found out, really."

"What clan were they from?"

"Hm… I can't seem to remember." she shrugged.

"It must be interesting to have a seer in your clan. That must be why your village has been able to avoid war for so long."

"Oh, of course. Our seer has some very fascinating abilities, you know. She can predict the future, see the past, foretell events… Oh! And she can see the names of everyone she comes across! That's pretty useful, being able to tell if someone is lying about who they are," she smiled frigidly. "Don't you think?"

There was a pause before a deep chuckle broke the silence.

"You might be worthwhile after all."

The man's voice had changed, colder and deeper than before. Aroka had to keep herself from shuddering at the ice in his tone.

"What do you want, Uchiha?"

"Hm… it almost seems as if you don't like me." His voice radiated amusement. "Despite what those Senju imbeciles may have lead you to believe, I'm not a bad person."

"Try convincing yourself first." she sneered, though it only drew a smirk from him.

"You know, I could kill you right now." he taunted, leaning closer and picking up a strand of long black hair. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Have you already forgotten how the whole 'seer' thing works? If you were going to kill me do you think I would have come here?"

"Fair enough. And seeing as you know so much, I'm sure you're aware of why I'm here."

"It's not that hard to guess, there's only one reason for someone like you to come to me."

"And what might that be?"

"You want my help, the only question is what for?"

"Smart girl. I want to know what you've been telling the Senjus."

"Hm… it's been so long since they last came to visit that I can't seem to remember."

"I think we both know that's not true. Whatever they're paying you, I can double it."

"Tough luck, they're not paying me anything."

"Then why are you helping them?"

"They're working towards something good."

"And what might that something be?"

"There's no reason to ask when you already know, after all, Hashirama came to you about it long before he came to me." Aroka stood up and brushed herself off. She turned to meet his eyes, or at least where she thought his eyes were. "Well as much as I've enjoyed our conversation, Madara, I have to get going now."

Just then, a nearby door clicked open and the sounds of cheerful voices spilled through.

"Come back soon, dear! Take care of yourself!"

"I will, bye Mom, bye Dad!"

Mila's line curved towards Aroka's as she approached.

"Sorry to keep you wait- who's this?" she asked upon spotting an unfamiliar man standing a little too close to her friend.

"He was just asking for directions. Sorry I couldn't be of any help." Aroka said, directing the later half to the man next to her. "We should get going, good luck with your travels." she smiled as the man excused himself.

Mila gently grasped the younger woman's arm, her eyes following the stranger's retreating back.

"Let's go." Aroka nudged her, snapping her back into reality.

"Oh, right."

The pair turned and started back towards the main compound.

"How did it go with your parents?"

"They were glad to see me." Mila glanced behind them; the man was nowhere in sight.

"Good, you should visit more often."

"Toru wouldn't be too happy if I did."

"He won't say anything if I'm with you."

"You don't like going outside, remember?" Mila reminded with a chuckle.

"Well it's nice to get some fresh air once in a while. Besides, I thought I should enjoy all of it while I still can."

"Hey, don't say that, you're going to be fine."

"It's going to happen sooner or later, I just want to live normally for as long as I can."

Mila glanced at her friend in concern.

"Anyways, Toru is going to be home in just a few minutes, if we hurry we can beat him there!" Aroka smiled, pulling Mila behind her as she began running.

"Hey! Slow down! You're going to hurt yourself!" she laughed as she held onto her arm, running alongside her friend as they dashed back towards the compound.


	8. A Secret Outing

_Lord Tobirama,_

 _I apologize for sending this letter outside of our usual schedule of correspondence, but we have urgent news regarding the patient._

 _Just a few hours ago, my team was called in by Lord Imada who proposed we conduct an operation on the patient; a dangerous, crude operation that would certainly have done more harm than good. Though we were able to talk him out of it for now, he seems intent on doing everything possible to help cure the patient, even if it involves severe damage to her being. Lord Toru, though we see very little of him, seems to be growing more and more concerned about the patient and we suspect it will continue like this if her condition does not improve, in which case he may inadvertently harm her in some way._

 _The procedure he proposed would have likely made her very unstable and therefore very unpredictable, under these conditions her abilities would no longer be of any use to you._

 _We will keep a close eye on Imada-sama and try to prevent any poor decisions on his part._

 _Agari_

Tobirama leaned back into his chair as the words registered. Agari, being the oldest medic in the war-stricken clan, had seen no shortage of medical operations in her time: from the morally gray to the thoroughly unethical, he had thought nothing would be able to phase the old bat anymore. What was this procedure that Toru had proposed? He would have to ask her about it next time he visited the Imada village, something that would unfortunately have to happen later than planned. Hashirama seemed to have caught something and was now sick enough that the day-long journey was no longer an option. Though he had been assured that it was only a mild cold, with Mito visiting her family in Uzushiogakure and Tobirama's general mistrust of other people, he had decided it was best to stay put until his brother recovered, meaning they wouldn't be able to leave for the Imada village tomorrow as planned.

He was just about to write a letter to seer explaining they wouldn't be able to make it before nearly smacking himself upon realizing how pointless that would be.

* * *

"Mila, I want to take a walk."

The brunette turned towards her friend who sat on the other side of the open door.

"What? Really?" she blinked in disbelief. "Do you… need something? I can get it for you."

"No, I don't need anything."

"Are you looking for someone?"

"No."

"Are you bored? I can-"

"Mila, I just want to take a walk." Aroka smiled. "Is it really so strange?"

"I can't remember the last time you asked to go outside... but if you want to then let's go."

Aroka smiled at her friend and stood up, stepping out of her room and leaving it void of its usual chakra cloak. She felt a hand softly grip her arm and the two made their way out of the compound in a comfortable silence.

"It's getting cold, isn't it?" the younger woman glanced up at the sky, unseeing.

"This year's first snow should be coming any day now. We always get far too much of it during the wintertime though, maybe it'll be lighter this year."

"Hopefully, last year the snow nearly made the roof collapse!"

"It almost did! You warned the housekeeper about it though, I remember you didn't want Toru to know about it since you had Detailed to find out."

"Too bad she told him that same day and I got yelled at for my good deed." Aroka huffed indignantly. "Saved two people's lives and not even a 'thank you'."

"You know how he is, he worries."

"He worries a little too much if you ask me."

"Don't be so hard on him, he's only trying to watch out for you."

"Yea, yea. You know, Mila, sometimes I think you're too nice for your own good." she nudged her friend jokingly.

"Hey! I am not!" =

"Whatever you say…" Aroka chuckled amusedly.

"Hmph. Where are we going anyways? We've been walking for a while."

"Where are we right now?"

"We just passed the old stone fountain."

"Just a little further, then."

It was another twenty minutes of scattered conversation before Aroka came to a stop, brows furrowed as her eyes darted around.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

"Hm? What is it?"

"I… I think someone's been injured." she turned towards the left, pulling Mila along with her.

Just as the pair took their first few steps towards Aroka's unknown destination, a faint sound drifted to Mila's ears.

"It sounds like someone crying." she frowned and quickened her pace.

Following the noise, the women approached a few rows of hedges and soon came upon a young boy.

The boy, no more than twelve years old, was sitting on the ground and bawling profusely. His right knee was scraped and bleeding, dirt covering the front of his clothing.

"Oh dear, what happened to you?" Mila asked, rushing up to the boy.

"I w-was chasing a r-rabbit and I fell!" he managed in between sobs.

Mila's brows furrowed in concern and she carefully examined the boy's knee. He must have landed on something hard since a faint bruise was already beginning to form. Though there were only a few scratches, one of which was bleeding steadily, she was sure the area would begin to swell soon.

"Don't cry, you'll be okay. Where are your parents? I'll bring you to them."

"M-My house is pretty f-far away." his cries had turned into sniffs now.

"Don't worry, I'll help you. Can you stand?"

The boy hesitantly pulled himself off the ground, careful not to lean on his injured leg too much.

Mila leaned down and draped one of his arms over her shoulder. She glanced back at Aroka and called for her to follow.

"I better stay here, you'll be able to get him back faster if you don't have to worry about me."

"Are you sure? Will you be ok?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'll be right here, just get him to his parents quickly." Aroka motioned for her to go.

Though reluctant, Mila agreed and they started off in the direction the boy was pointing.

"Why were you all the way out there? You need to be careful when you're so far from home." she chided.

After a few minutes of strained hobbling and muffled cries, the boy finally pointed towards a distant row of houses.

"I live right over there." he sniffed quietly.

"Alright, you'll be home soon, just a little further."

The two quickly reached the group of small houses and approached the one the boy had pointed out.

"Young man! Where have you been! You'r father and I were worried sick!" A middle aged woman dashed out of the house before they could even climb the front steps. She gasped upon noticing his disheveled state. "Dear! What happened to you!?"

"S-Sorry mom, I fell when I was playing by the bushes." the boy's eyes were glued to the ground.

"I told you always to be careful when we're not around! Come here, let's get you inside." She took him from Mila's arms before turning to her in exasperation, bowing deeply. "Thank you so much for helping him home. I don't know how I can repay you."

"No need for that, I'm just glad he's going to be ok." she smiled. "If you would excuse me, I have to get back to my friend." she bowed slightly before turning and heading back the way she came.

Walking at a brisk pace, Mila made it back to where she'd found the boy in just five minutes.

"Miss, I'm back!" she called out.

Glancing around the garden, she couldn't see her friend.

"Miss?"

* * *

Aroka sat on a large rock at the edge of the forest, eyes closed and humming softly.

She was a good distance outside the village gates which, from where she was, were obscured by a small hill. It had been a while since she'd last left the village confines and she was glad to be in a place devoid of people as it meant she could once again use her chakra.

The scattering of small trees that lay behind her grew to form a dense forest as she spread her chakra deeper into it. The trees' canopies were thinning out in preparation for the coming winter and the forest floor was covered in a blanket of leaves that must have been a beautiful sight to see.

In front of her was a plain field that stretched all the way up the hill and to the distant village gate. The grass continued rolling to the left and right further than she could ever know.

Aroka hadn't had a view like this in a long time. It must have been years since she last stepped foot outside those gates. It was just a shame she wasn't here for the scenery.

"Do you want to come down? It's going to be pretty hard to talk if you're all the way up there." she called, eyes still closed.

She felt a slight movement near the edge of her radius, then, in a split second, a human-shaped disturbance shifted the chakra right behind her.

"How long have you known I was here?" a deep voice questioned.

"I could _feel_ you the moment you got here but I could _see_ you coming from miles away."

"See? What can you see?"

"Why are you here, Madara?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"You're the seer, you tell me."

Aroka smiled in amusement.

"You know, you remind me of Tobirama. He's said those exact words to me before."

She could see his face twist into a frown.

"Do not compare me to that weakling." he warned sharply.

"I don't know, he might be stronger than you think." she shrugged halfheartedly. "But anyways, back to why you're here. I'm going to take a _wild guess_ and say you want something from me. What is it?" She turned to face him, pale eyes meeting red ones.

"How have you been helping the Senjus?" he asked simply.

"They come to me with questions, I answer them."

"What questions have they asked?"

"Well there's been so many, I can't quite remember."

"Do not test my patience."

"If you're wondering whether I've been helping them in the war, the answer is no."

"Lies. Why would they need your help if not for the war?"

Aroka sighed impatiently.

"Look. I'm going to let you in on a little secret so listen carefully." She cleared her throat and lowered her voice dramatically. _"There's no reason for me to help either side in your war."_

Madara's frown deepened and his eyes gleamed dangerously.

"If so, what have the Senjus been coming to you for?"

"I can't tell you."

His eyes narrowed.

"I can't tell you because if I do, we won't get the right outcome."

The Uchiha studied her expression for a moment before turning around with a scoff.

"Useless..." He started back towards the forest, arms crossed.

"But I could give you some advice you might be interested in."

He stopped and glared at the woman.

"You have to answer a question for me first, though." Aroka smiled invitingly.

"Ask."

Her grin widened with satisfaction.

"All my life people have been uncomfortable around my chakra, shinobi especially. You didn't hesitate to come near me and it doesn't seem to bother you at all. Why?"

Madara smirked in amusement.

"Your chakra might be strong but it's untrained, in battle it would be next to useless. You pose no threat to me." he stated simply.

"That was harsh." she blinked at his response. "But I suppose that's what I should have expected. Well, a deal's a deal so here's my advice: go find Izuna."

Madara paused.

"What?"

"Go find Izuna" Aroka repeated. "I would hurry if I were you."

Madara, though suspicious of the woman's true intentions, turned and sped off into the forest, directly towards the western border of Uchiha territory where he knew Izuna would be.

As questionable as that woman was, he wouldn't take any chances when it came to his brother.

* * *

"Aroka!"

The woman flinched at the booming shout that called her name.

"Where in the world have you been!? We've been looking everywhere for you!" Toru ran up to her, grasping her shoulders and inspecting her for any sign of injury.

"I was barely gone for an hour, calm down."

"Something could have happened to you! You could have been hurt!"

"I'm fine, really. I can take care of myself."

"You can't just wander off like that, Aroka. Mila has been panicking for the last hour, running around everywhere looking for you."

"Ok, ok, I'll go find her. Just relax, I'm fine."

"No, I'll send someone to get her, you should wait for her in your room, ok?"

Aroka frowned.

"You do know I'm not a child, right?"

"Please?" he smiled his most convincing smile.

With a sigh, she reluctantly gave in, brushing past him and starting the trek to her room.

The only way for her to have been able to speak to Madara was to sneak out without raising any alarms. After playing with the timeline and carefully considering her options, she found that the best way to get out of the compound was with Mila's help, after that she just had to find a way to slip out from her friend's watchful eye.

It all worked out exactly as she'd planned, only now she had to deal with the inevitable earful she would get from Toru for the next few weeks.

' _Its for the greater good.'_ she reassured herself, already feeling a headache coming.


	9. Shenanigans

"It's been a while since you've been by, Tobirama," Aroka greeted cheerfully as the said man entered the room, her eyes not quite meeting his.

"Hashirama has other business to tend to, he sends his regards," the Senju stated flatly, taking a seat across from the woman. Much to his relief, she had kept her suffocating chakra away from him again.

"I don't know if I would call taking care of a toddler 'business' but ok…" she shrugged. "So what brings you back here?"

"The Uchihas have been acting more offensively than usual. We've suffered two ambushes in the past week as well as a raid on one of our supply lines. We need to know why they've become more aggressive and what they're planning next," he explained.

"Ah the Uchihas, I've noticed their bold actions lately. I'd like to help you, I really would, but you're not very good at listening to my advice, are you?" Aroka tilted her head pointedly.

"What do you mean?"

"Last time I told you that if you wanted peace, one thing you _absolutely_ _could not do_ was kill Izuna."

"So?"

"So why were you fighting him just a few weeks ago?"

"We only clashed briefly when he wounded one of my generals. I wouldn't have killed him."

"Actually you would have," she countered accusingly, "And bad things would have happened because of it. Thankfully I sent Madara there before you could-"

"You what?" he interrupted, eyes narrowing, "You know Madara?"

"He came looking for me again and-"

" _Again_? You've met him more than once?"

"Calm down, that was only the second time. I had to convince him to go find Izuna before _you_ could ruin our chances at peace."

"Why did he come looking for you?"

"He wanted to know if I was helping you and Hashirama in the war."

"Does he know about your abilities?"

"Mhm. Sent one of his men to spy on me a few weeks ago. I'm still not quite sure where he first learned about me, though."

"If he knew we had been in contact with you then he must have been watching us as well, we need to find out how he's been doing so... What else did he say to you?"

The woman didn't respond, not seeming to hear the question, instead her eyes were darting randomly around the room.

"Aroka, what else did he-"

"Shhhhh!" she held a hand up. For a moment, her eyes seemed to trace an invisible line.

Suddenly, she leapt to her feet and made a beeline for the door, pulling him up as she did so.

"What are you-"

"This way!"

She swung open the door and gave Mila a nod before sprinting in the other direction, still keeping a solid grip on Tobirama's arm.

They sped through the wooden walkways, dodging the occasional servant as they ran much faster than he thought she was capable of. They had made at least half a dozen turns before the woman stopped in front of a faded sliding door. Pushing it open, she dragged both herself and her confused companion inside before slamming it shut behind them.

The first thing Tobirama noticed was that they were in a storage room; the space was filled almost entirely with wooden spinning wheels in different states of disuse. Although the room itself was not particularly small, the dust-covered wheels took up most of the area, leaving only a few feet of open space by the door.

He watched Aroka's eyes dart around sporadically before she breathed a loud sigh of relief.

"Are you going to tell me why I'm in here?" he raised an eyebrow at the out-of-breath woman.

"When I went to speak with Madara a few weeks ago, I couldn't let anyone know so I had to sneak away from Mila in order to get to him. When she realized I was gone, she went to Toru for help. Now, Toru's always been a little overprotective but he _really_ didn't like me going off on my own, ever since then he's been lecturing me about "the dangers of being alone outside" whenever he gets the chance."

"And what does that have to do with hiding in a closet?"

"He just came back from a trip to another village, he's looking for me right now and I am _not_ going to risk getting trapped in another one of his speeches," she huffed in determination, "No one ever uses this closet, especially not Toru, there's no way he'd think to look here."

"He's right. You shouldn't have gone to speak to Madara."

"He doesn't know I spoke to him, he just thinks I wandered off."

"Regardless, it could have been dangerous."

Aroka blinked and turned to him incredulously.

"Not you too..." she groaned, "I wouldn't have gone if it was going to be dangerous. Plus, I'm fine, aren't I?"

"If you had gotten hurt, would you have been able to tell ahead of time?" he asked with arms crossed, already knowing the answer.

"...no... but I didn't get hurt! Besides, I wouldn't have had to go find him in the first place if you'd stayed away from Izuna like I told you to," she countered sharply.

Tobirama sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine, just tell me what I'm supposed to do about the Uchihas' attacks," he stated, only vaguely remembering why he was here in the first place.

"Don't do anything, I'll take care of it. They'll stop soon as long as you don't ignore my advice _again_ ," she glared, "That being said, you're not going to encounter him again for quite a while, so don't go looking for trouble and you'll be fine."

"Hn. Is there anything else I should know?"

Aroka's eyes flickered around for a moment.

"Oh, this might be something," she realized, eyes landing on an invisible spot, "But I can't say anything else until I take a closer look at it."

Tobirama nodded, though not quite sure of why that was, and turned his attention towards the door.

"When can we leave?"

"It'll be a while."

"How long?"

"You should probably make yourself comfortable," she smiled sheepishly before taking a seat on one of the dusty stools.

Sighing audibly, Tobirama reluctantly followed suit, settling on one of the many small wooden seats behind him.

"So how has Hashirama been doing?" Aroka asked curiously.

"The child is taking up most of his attention these days. He has paid little mind to the affairs of our clan."

"I assume you do most of the work, huh?"

"Unfortunately."

"That's too bad, being busy all the time… How is your clan liking our silks?"

"The villagers seem enjoy them. The monthly auctions have become quite the spectacle."

"They must be selling quite well then! Have you tried one yourself?"

"No. I have no interest in such things."

"Oh come on, they're really nice."

"Regardless, I have no use for them."

"You're no fun, Tobirama."

"So I've been told."

Aroka chuckled amusedly, moving to rest a hand under her chin.

"What do you think a village made by the Senju and Uchiha will look like?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't know."

"I'd like to think it's full of life and color. Most clans can barely tolerate being near each other, much less living together, but I think Hashirama's vision would be a step towards changing that."

"I suppose that could be the case."

"You should have more faith in your brother, you know. His idea is a good one."

"Hn."

Aroka smiled and shook her head at her stubborn friend.

A comfortable silence fell between them. As the minutes ticked by they could see the light outside begin to dim, it wasn't quite nighttime yet but the moon couldn't have been far off.

After an unidentifiable amount of time in the dim, dusty closet, Aroka's eyes snapped to the door and she stood up abruptly.

"It's safe now!" she declared, sliding it open eagerly.

She was mid-step out of the room when she froze, suddenly remembering something.

"What is it?" Tobirama glanced at her questioningly.

"I… don't know how to get back..."

"What?"

"I only knew how to get here because I used my chakra to see, but now I don't know how to get back."

"Why don't you just use your chakra again?"

"Well the thing is… I'm not really supposed to be using it outside at all. It makes a lot of people uncomfortable, especially shinobi, so it became sort of an unspoken rule that I'm not supposed to use it outside my room. That's why Mila's always around, she can run errands for me so I don't have to wander around blindly.

"Toru enforces this rule?"

"Not really but the elders do. They have servants report to them if they see, or I guess, feel me using chakra anywhere besides my room. They always give me the same long speech when they catch me doing it, so I just try to avoid it all together."

"How are we going to get back, then?" he raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You're going to have to help me out," she smiled, curling a hand around his arm, "Describe what you see and I'll do my best to remember the way back."

Tobirama glanced down questioningly at the light grip she had on him and, after considering his options, decided to go along with her plan.

Turning left, the direction Aroka was sure they had come from, the two started down the empty hallway.

Every time they passed an intersecting path, archway, statue, or anything else of note, Tobirama would point it out and Aroka would decide which direction to continue in.

...

"There's a large ceramic vase to the left."

"What's on it?"

"An image of a silkmaker."

"Mm, I don't remember one like that…"

...

"There's an open doorway ahead, it seems to lead to a garden."

"...I definitely don't remember that…"

…

Just a few minutes in, the pair sighed simultaneously, now keenly aware that they were rather lost.

"We aren't getting any closer to Mila, we might be going the wrong- oh! There's someone coming this way! Let's ask them!"

True to her word, a young woman stepped into view just ahead of them, a basket of herbs balanced in her arms.

"Kishi!" Aroka waved the girl over enthusiastically, "Excuse me, but do you know what part of the compound we're in?"

The woman looked a bit surprised but bowed respectfully nonetheless.

"This is the South wing, Miss, we're just outside the infirmary."

Aroka tilted her head.

"Infirmary? We must have really gotten off course," she chuckled, slightly embarrassed, "Which way leads back to the central courtyard?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know. I've only ever worked in this part of the building," she bowed her head apologetically.

"Oh, that's ok, thanks for your help! Come on, let's keep looking," She tugged on Tobirama's arm and the two continued off in their original direction.

An hour had passed and the sun had nearly disappeared, the two had still yet to find Aroka's room. The compound must have been designed as a maze, seeing that none of the areas they came upon seemed familiar to her. Tobirama had no idea the building was this big and, apparently, neither did she.

"You said there's a marble statue ahead? When did we start putting statues inside?" Aroka sighed in frustration as they blindly turned down yet another hallway, "I can see Mila's line but somehow we're not getting any closer…"

Tobirama, being the stoic man he was, didn't seem nearly as irritated by the situation.

Not on the outside at least.

...

"A bed of flowers is mounted on the wall."

"No clue."

…

"A garden with a pond at the center."

"Didn't know that existed."

…

"A row of paintings hanging on the right."

"Nope."

...

"A stone fountain in the center of the hallway."

"Wait," Aroka stopped suddenly, eyes widening, "A fountain…. is there a long crack at the base of it?"

Tobirama scanned the base quickly and, sure enough, there was a single, thin crack marring the lower side of the fountain.

"That's it! I got it! I know where we are!" she squealed, shaking his arm with pure excitement, "There should be a bend up ahead, then to right there's a bunch of doors, just past those is a connecting hall that leads to the courtyard that faces my room!" she breathed. "Come on! Let's go!"

As she had described, two rights and a courtyard later, the two had finally made it out of the maze, the familiar double doors in sight.

"Miss! Where have you been? It's been hours!" Mila gasped as they came into sight, quickly running up to the younger woman.

"We got a little lost," Aroka grinned sheepishly, "Sorry if we made you worry."

"No, no, I'm glad you're both ok," she smiled thankfully.

"Well, I think we should all turn in a little early today. Mila, please show Tobirama to his room, then you're free to retire for the day," Aroka smiled, letting go of his arm.

Mila nodded dutifully and motioned for the man to come with her.

After their footsteps faded down the hall, Aroka turned and stretched out an arm, feeling for the railing. With a few small shuffles her hand found the smooth wooden surface and, following it slowly, she stepped up the courtyard stairs towards her room.

The moment she entered, the space immediately flooded with chakra.

Aroka breathed a sigh of relief as her vision again filled with the familiar outlines.


	10. Secrets

The next day, Aroka awoke early, or at least she assumed it was early as most people seemed to be asleep.

She gazed over the clusters of little white lines before focusing on the area around her own.

The day wouldn't be very eventful. Much like most, she wouldn't be leaving her room today. In just a while, Mila's line would wake up and she would take her usual position outside the door. She'd be sent on a few errands later, though Aroka didn't yet know what they would be. The only line other line that would come close to hers that day would be Tobirama's; it seems they'd only speak for a short while, though. She wondered what it would be about.

Aroka stood and padded over to the door, sliding it open with a soft squeak. She took a deep breath as the cool morning air flowed in.

The young woman settled behind the small table and stared into the formless space that lay beyond her open door. She liked to keep it open whenever possible, even though she couldn't see past the doorframe.

Reaching underneath the little table, she brought out a rather faded book and opened it to where she'd left off. She didn't really need to read the book to know what it said, after all she had gone through it so many times before.

The thin book was titled "Yura Imada" and was bound by three discolored, faded strings.

Yura had lived nearly a century ago, born to the main family of the time. She lived a comfortable life, never having to labor in the fields or the silk shops. She had smooth brown hair that she'd kept short most her life and she was said to have been kind and soft-spoken.

But what about her would warrant a book detailing her life?

Only one thing, really. Yura was a seer.

Indeed, Yura Imada was the eighth seer born of her clan, a girl whose arrival was long awaited. Much like Aroka, Yura was born blind, her deep brown eyes developing a milky coat as she grew older.

Yura was taught to make use of her peculiar abilities by the elders of the clan, abilities that were particularly useful seeing as the Imada were in the middle of a decade-long war that was no longer in their favor.

The tides of the war changed quickly as Yura began to understand the meaning in the tangled mess of lines that lay behind her eyes. Under her advisement, the Imada shinobi eliminated spies, avoided traps, took out key leaders, burned supply lines, and ultimately won the war, against all odds. This was an enormous victory for the silkmakers, as their enemy had been a far more powerful clan, and with the resources gained from the ransom of a captured general, the Imada were able to expand and improve their small army which was already notably larger than its modern counterpart. This victory did not come without consequences, however. Due to excessive Detailing, Yura-

"Good morning Miss."

"Oh, good morning Mila." she looked up from the book and smiled.

"You know, I don't think I've ever actually seen you sleeping. How long have you been up?"

"Not too long, I slept rather well last night."

"You must have been tired from wandering around the compound for so long, I'm glad you could get some rest."

"I haven't been able to fall asleep so quickly in a long time. Maybe I should get lost more often." Aroka chuckled.

"The compound is certainly big enough for that." she grinned. "By the way, last night Senju-sama requested to speak to you as soon as you awoke, should I bring him here?"

"Not yet. I need find out a few things before we speak again, please close the door and send him away when he comes looking for me."

"Of course, Miss."

And with a quiet rustle, the door slid shut.

* * *

"Is she finished?" Tobirama asked with arms crossed.

"I'm afraid not, though I'm sure she won't be much longer." Mila bowed apologetically.

"That's what you said the last two times." he sighed, turning away yet again. "Just find me when she's ready."

It was already past noon and he had still not seen Aroka, having been sent away each time he'd approached her room. What could possibly be taking her so long?

Irritably pushing the thought from his mind, he occupied himself with a different task: finding Agari and the other medics.

Recalling the path to the medics' room that Samaru had shown him last time, he made his way through the maze-like corridors and soon found the women waiting for him.

"Tobirama-sama, please come in." Agari greeted warmly, ushering the shinobi into the room.

Scanning the room, he noted that the women all held troubled frowns on their faces.

"We have some peculiar news regarding the patient." Kimi stated reluctantly. "We've done many tests in our time here and the results are rather... strange. She doesn't have any genetic issues that would cause blindness, nor is the milkyness of her eyes significant enough to cause vision loss. Her eyes are able to move normally and react to light very well, the muscles around them also show no sign of weakness or degradation."

"So?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if she was really born completely blind as we've been told, it's incredibly unlikely we would have seen these results."

"Are you suggesting they have not been truthful about her condition?" he questioned.

Agari shook her head in apparent discomfort.

"It's possible but it's clear that they're desperate for a cure, they have no reason to lie to us. We've run the tests many times to ensure it wasn't a fluke, but the results are always the same. We don't know what to make of it, but according to the tests and everything else we've seen... Miss Aroka should be able to see just fine."

* * *

"Is she finished?" Tobirama asked for the fourth time that day. By then the sun was already touching the horizon.

Surprisingly, the answer was different this time.

"Yes, Miss Aroka is waiting for you." Mila bowed respectfully and slid the door open, stepping aside to let him pass.

Crossing into the room, he could feel the heavy chakra presence all around, though it was not quite touching him.

"Tobirama! What have you been up to all day?" Aroka grinned childishly up at him.

"I could ask you the same thing." he stated blandly, taking a seat in front of her.

"Oh don't be so serious all the time, I just had to be sure of a few things before we spoke." she explained. "Turns out you really don't have much to worry about for the next few weeks, the Uchiha attacks will die down and the war should carry on as it had. Things are going quite well as it currently stands and I don't believe that will change anytime soon. As long as you and Hashirama keep doing what you're doing, an alliance will be here in no time." Aroka smiled.

"It's that simple?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, on your part, yes."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't worry about it, just focus on yourself and everything else will fall into place."

"I certainly hope you're right."

"The lines don't lie."

"Hn."

"Now that's all out of the way, let's talk about something fun." she grinned, leaning forwards, chin resting on top of her hands. "What's the Senju village like?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to know what your home looks like."

"It's just like every other village."

"I haven't seen any other villages."

"You haven't _seen_ any villages at all."

"Oh come on, you know what I meant."

"I can't say I do."

"You're a real prick, you know that?"

"Hn."

Aroka sighed, though a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Fine, but you have to tell me something about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

"Who else in your family has red eyes?"

Tobirama raised an eyebrow; what is it with this girl and eyes?

"No one."

"Then where'd you get it from?"

"How should I know?"

"Hmm…" Aroka tapped her chin, trying to think of something else to ask. "What do you look like?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"What? You never let my chakra touch you so I can't see what you look like."

"You've seen me before."

"Only when we first met and that was months ago."

"I refuse to discuss such a pointless topic."

"Rude."

"Now it's my turn to ask a question."

"What? You haven't answered any of mine yet!"

"Have you ever been able to use your eyes?"

"Hmph. If you mean have I ever been able to see, then no."

"You open your eyes instinctively, people who are born blind don't."

"I suppose being able to see with chakra imitates normal sight."

"It takes years to learn to use chakra, the natural tendency to keep your eyes closed would have already become habit by then."

She paused, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"What are you implying?" she asked, tone sharper than before.

"Have you been hiding anything from me?"

She hesitated for a fraction of a second.

"No."

He clearly didn't believe her.

"What haven't you told me?" he demanded.

A long, stiff silence fell between them as they each stared the other down.

"I think it's time for you to leave." Aroka stated, a thin mask of calmness over her features.

"I want the truth."

The chakra in the room became heavier.

"Get out."

The two glared at each other for a long moment before Tobirama finally turned away. Scoffing, he stood and strode out of the room, opening the door with a harsh thud.

His footsteps faded down the hall.

Mila, having jumped at the man's sudden, swift exit, glanced back at her friend in concern.

"What happened? Are you ok?" she asked, surprised.

Aroka stared at the empty void beyond the door and, had it not been for a small scoff, Mila would have thought she hadn't heard her.

"Close the door, please." she said.

Now even more confused, Mila hesitated for a moment but, after another few concerned glances, reluctantly slid the door shut.

* * *

Aroka's eyes didn't move from the door for what felt like hours. A scattered train of thought circled endlessly in her head, over and over, again and again.

She stared at the lines that lay before her, looking for an answer, any answer.

It was never that easy.

She'd find an answer, just not now.

But she had to figure out what to do.

This wasn't good, it wasn't good at all.

Aroka pulled out a small book from under her desk along with a pen and a bottle of ink. She flipped it open to where she had last left off and began to scribble. Ramblings, mostly, but she had to write them down anyways.

Time became obsolete as the jumble of thoughts flowed into the paper. Everything else, including the white web and outlines of her room, blurred out of focus.

* * *

Mila glanced back at the closed door every so often, worried about what had happened. She had never seen Aroka look so… troubled. And Tobirama certainly didn't seem too happy when he left.

She sighed anxiously; she would ask her about it tomorrow, hopefully this wouldn't cause a rift between those two.

After another hour or so of silent concern, the light had almost completely disappeared and it was getting darker by the minute. This was Mila's cue to retire for the day.

Sighing and glancing back at the door one more time, the young woman started off towards her room that waited a hall away.

* * *

Something stirred Tobirama from his sleep that night.

Tiredly, he blinked a few times before scanning the room out of habit. Nothing was out of place.

He listened for any peculiar sounds but there were none either.

Strange, he didn't usually wake up during such odd hours.

It was another second before his eyes widened and he leapt to his feet. He threw open the door and stepped outside, how did he not notice it sooner?

It was the air.

The air was filled with smoke.

' _Aroka.'_

He didn't know why she was the first thing that came to mind and he didn't take the time to wonder, instead he sped down the hall and around the corner, making a beeline for the seer's room.

As he turned down the next hall, a plume of smoke came into view; it was rising from just behind the courtyard walls, a flickering glow near the bottom of the dark cloud. He had to cover his mouth and nose as the smoke around him grew thicker.

It only took a second to reach the familiar door. Throwing it open, he watched as a still-awake Aroka jumped in surprise, dropping the pen in her hand.

"What the- Tobirama? What are you-?"

"Get up, let's go!" he yelled, rushing towards her and pulling her up.

"What? Why?" she asked frantically as she stumbled out the door.

"The fire! Can't you smell it?"

He glanced around and quickly decided that the quickest way out was across the rooves.

Stepping into the courtyard, he put a hand around her waist and leapt onto the nearest roof. He dashed away from the growing cloud of smoke, tiles clinking underfoot each time they landed.

"Hey!" she gasped as they zipped through the air, clinging to him tightly. "What's happening? Where are we going?"

"Shut up!" he shouted, silencing her.

Just a moment later, the two made it to the edge of the compound near the entrance. There were already at least a dozen people gathered a distance away with more emerging from within the compound.

As they landed back on the ground, Tobirama set her down and glanced towards the fire that was blazing larger by the second.

He sighed in relief and turned his attention back to Aroka.

"Why didn't you get out earlier?" he demanded with brows drawn. "The fire was right across from your room!"

Aroka, who was still clinging onto him for dear life, didn't respond, her eyes darted around wildly as she tightened her grip on him.

"Aroka!" a voice called loudly. "Aroka! Are you ok?" Toru asked frantically as he ran up to the pair.

As he reached them, he stretched out a hand to comfort her only for her to jump and back away.

"Hey, hey, calm down. It's just me." he said with hands raised, taking a careful step towards her.

"Toru?" she asked, eyes still searching for something unseen. "What's happening?"

"I'll explain, just come with me, ok?" he said soothingly, putting a hand on her back and slowly guiding her away from the gathering crowd.

Tobirama stared at their retreating backs, puzzled. Why was she so confused?

What was going on?

* * *

A few hours had passed and everything had calmed down a bit, the fire had been put out quickly, though the smoke still lingered in the air. Tobirama sat on a bench in a nearby garden as no one had been allowed back inside the compound yet. The sky was still pitch black with only the moon to offer any sort light. The stars were nowhere to be seen.

The crunching of footsteps made him look up and he was able to make out two approaching figures, both of which he recognized rather easily.

"Thanks Mila, I'll be fine from here."

"Ok, please be careful, Miss."

As one of the figures turned and walked away, the other reached out a hand to feel for the bench in front of her and slowly took a seat.

A long silence fell between them.

"There's something I need to tell you." Aroka said finally. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Earlier you asked me if I was hiding anything, and the truth is I was, though it's not what you think."

Tobirama raised an eyebrow at the sudden confession.

She sighed before speaking again.

"A long time ago, the Imada were a clan of shinobi, struggling to survive in a war-torn land. We weren't the strongest clan by any means, we lost many battles and many more men, but one day a little girl, no more than ten years old, told the chief that if he left with his army tomorrow, he would be the only one to return. As it turns out, the girl was right; the entire army was slaughtered in an ambush and only the chief managed to escape. Of course, he was shocked as to how the girl could have known this and went to speak with her.

"The girl's name was Hayako and she was born blind. The chief later found out that Hayako was essentially able to predict the future, it took a while but he soon discovered a way to use this ability to not only know the future, but change it as well. With Hayako's predictions, the Imada were able to turn the war in their favor and eventually won it altogether. After this, she was praised and worshiped like a goddess, everyone thought she had been sent by the heavens as a blessing to them. They might have been right, but blessings always come with a condition. You see, much like mine, the timeline Hayako saw only included people's locations, she could tell when people crossed paths and when they died, but that was about it. However, she soon discovered that there was a way to see more than just these. She called it Detailing. With it she could hear any conversation she wanted to, know the location of any person at any time, and even see alternate timelines. This was how she helped her clan win the war, but it was all for a price. She eventually realized that every time she Detailed, she lost a little bit of her sense of taste. Once her taste was completely gone, Detailing would weaken her smell. After that, her feeling. After that, her hearing.

"By the time she realized the severity of this, it was already too late. She had overused her abilities and quickly lost all her senses, just a few years after the war she became unresponsive after losing the last of her hearing." Aroka's eyes were downcast. "She was only sixteen."

Tobirama was quiet for a long moment, brows drawn in concentration.

"...you're also able to 'Detail.'"

"Yep."

"Your senses also weaken because of it."

"Yep."

"You've been Detailing to help us."

"Yep."

He paused again before asking the one question he really didn't want to know the answer to.

"How many have you lost?"

Aroka smiled sadly.

"My taste faded away six years ago. My smell, only a few months before we met. That's why I didn't notice the smoke."

He remained silent.

"It really isn't as bad as it seems, compared to some of the seers before me I'm actually doing quite well. It should be a few years before I have to worry about losing my sense of touch and even longer before I-"

"Are you stupid?" he stood up suddenly, eyes narrowing in anger.

Aroka was taken aback.

"Tobirama-"

"Why would you keep doing it if it's killing you?" he demanded.

"No, you don't understand-"

"I never should have asked for you help. I will not allow you to harm yourself just to further Hashirama's foolish dream." he stated coldly before turning his back to her. "We don't need your help. This is the last time we will meet."

"Wait! Tobirama!" she called desperately, jumping up from her seat.

But there was no response.

She knew he was already gone.


	11. Befriending the Enemy

Nearly two months had passed since the incident at the Imada compound.

The day Tobirama had returned, Hashirama noticed he was in a bad mood, even more so than usual. With a bit of pestering, he had gotten him to relay what had happened during his visit to the silkmakers' and, needless to say, Hashirama wasn't too happy to hear the news.

Aroka's condition, for lack of a better word, certainly came as a surprise and he worried that seeking out her help had caused her even more damage. He'd decided to visit her again as soon as possible but Tobirama vehemently refused to return, thus resulting in two months having passed without word from the seer.

Hashirama sighed, glancing out the window as he rested his head on his hands. Along with the news about Aroka, there had been developments in the war as well. He had taken her advice and refrained from any retaliation against the Uchihas for their recent ambushes. True to her word, the attacks had dwindled significantly and it had now been over two weeks since the last one.

Battles against the Uchiha have also, for some reason, become fewer in these past months. He'd been racking his brain as to why this would be before Madara approached him just a few days ago and demanded to know why he'd been receiving assistance from a seer. Tobirama had mentioned something about Aroka having spoken to the Uchiha leader, though he still wondered how exactly he knew about her. Regardless of this, he told him the truth; they'd been looking for a way to form a treaty between the their clans.

At first, Madara was skeptical and merely scoffed at the response, but after a back and forth insisting that he was telling the truth, the Uchiha just… well, disappeared. Hashirama hadn't heard from him since and he was getting more anxious by the day.

A knock came at his door, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Come in." he called, leaning back in his chair.

"I'm back." Tobirama announced, stepping into the office, still donning his battle armor.

"How'd it go?"

"As expected. We were able to help the Sarutobi clan expand their territory North about three miles, now it's up to them to keep it that way."

"So all went well? That's good news." he nodded thoughtfully.

"Something odd did happen. As we were returning to the village, we encountered around a dozen Uchiha shinobi just beyond our boarders. We were prepared to draw our weapons but they stopped and retreated back into their territory before we could attack." he recounted.

Hashirama hummed and nodded slowly, tapping his chin in contemplation.

"Hikaku had a similar experience during his patrol rounds. I thought it might just have been a coincidence that they left without a fight but now…" his brows furrowed. "What if Madara is actually considering my idea?"

Tobirama nearly rolled his eyes; not this again.

"Brother-"

"Hear me out!" he interrupted, standing up with a wide grin on his face. "Aroka said Madara would come around soon enough and we've been careful to follow all her advice, maybe this is it! I spoke to him a days ago so maybe he's finally taking the idea of peace seriously!"

"Or both encounters happened by chance and he's still trying to kill us like he always has been."

"Either way we need to pay Aroka another visit, maybe there's something we can do to make sure he finally agrees to a treaty this time!"

"No. I've already told you I'm not going back there."

"Come on Tobirama, this is what we've been working for! We could have peace for the first time in decades!"

"My answer is final."

Hashirama sighed and crossed his arms.

"Look, I don't want Aroka to have to hurt herself to help us either but if she was willing to do it then it must have known it would be important! I don't know if something happened between you two to make you so upset, but this could be the last time we ever have to trouble her, surely you can put it aside for the sake of our clan." he reasoned, half pleading.

Tobirama closed his eyes and turned back towards the door.

"I won't change my mind." he stated before stepping out of the room and disappearing into the hallway.

Hashirama sighed, shaking his head in disappointment and falling backwards into his chair, letting out a heavy breath.

'I guess I'll have to go alone.'

* * *

Tobirama slammed the door behind him and furiously took a seat behind his desk, both hands curled into fists.

Why do they need her help? Why does Hashirama _insist_ on going back there again? What does he think he'll learn?

It's been two months since he'd last seen her yet he still couldn't make himself forget about that night. She couldn't smell the smoke. That's why she told him about that first seer, talked about losing her senses like it was nothing important. How could she possibly think it was ok?

They didn't need her help. She'd said it herself, when they first met she said the Senju and Uchiha would make peace in three years. She didn't have to help them, she didn't have to deplete her senses just to speed up something that was already going to happen. So why did she? Why did she have to agree to help? Why did he have to meet her?

 _Crack!_

He looked down to see that a large dent had split the wooden surface of his desk where his hand had been.

Taking a deep breath and clearing his thoughts, he shook the anger from his head and stepped out of his office.

"Careful boys! Bring it over here!" A gray-bearded man waved as a group of shinobi carried two large crates through the hall. "That's the Imada silk you've got in there! I don't want a single speck of dust on those boxes!" he hollered.

As the procession passed by, the bearded man spotted Tobirama and shuffled over to him, bowing deeply.

"Lord Tobirama! We have just received the shipment of silk products from the Imada clan this morning, they are being brought to the guarded storage rooms to be kept until the auction tomorrow."

Tobirama glanced down at the man and scoffed.

"Don't concern me with such irrelevant matters, deal with it as you will." he said, waving a hand dismissively.

The old man hesitated at his harsh tone, as if contemplating whether or not to continue.

"...but my Lord, we received something else in addition to the usual shipment." he managed, waving over one of the men who, instead of lifting one the large crates, carried what appeared to be a flat, modestly sized, square silk-wrapped box.

The older man took the box from him and held it out to Tobirama.

"It came with this note attached to it." he explained, gesturing towards a slip of parchment bound to the silk by a string.

 _This package is only to be given to Tobirama Senju._

"What is it?" he asked with veiled interest.

"We have not opened it yet. The guards who received it were quite certain that nothing harmful was inside, so I thought it best to bring it to you."

"Hn, very well. If that's all, you're dismissed."

The old man bowed respectfully and continued off in the direction the others had headed.

Stepping back into his office, Tobirama set the box down and scanned it carefully.

The flat box was wrapped with a length of pitch black silk that bore scattered images of white and blue feathers across it, a thick red string secured the silk around the package with another of the same kind attaching the parchment.

Glancing at the note once more, he had a feeling he knew who was responsible for sending it, after all, there was only one person who found use in this chakra-infused ink.

As he pulled at the string, both it and the silk fell away easily to reveal a simple wooden box. It was rather heavy, made of dark wood with a gleaming finish, though there was nothing much remarkable about it. Raising up the top of the latchless box, he was met with the image of a rolling wave.

Intrigued, Tobirama lifted the object from its confinement to get a better look at it. With a soft swish, the silken piece unravelled to reveal the full scale of its beauty.

In his hands he held a light creme kimono that displayed the likeness of an ocean across its faces: lofty tides stretched across the lower half of the sleeves, impressive waves dominated the body of the kimono, and a fine spray splashed all the way up to the collar. A scattering of seabirds could even be spotted flying high above the water's brilliant surface.

All of this captured in immense detail, it was clear that the creator of this piece had toiled over it for many days, many weeks, far longer than one person should ever have the patience for.

It was a splendid thing indeed, now the only question was what it was for.

Glancing back down, he noticed a folded piece of parchment lying at the bottom of the otherwise empty box. Carefully setting the kimono aside, he picked up the paper and unfolded it.

 _Dear Tobirama,_

 _Long time no see!_

 _I know you might not want to hear from me right now but I didn't want to leave things as they were that night. You may still be upset with me for what I said or you may have forgotten all about it, but either way, I feel like I should explain myself._

 _I knew that you and Hashirama were good people before I ever met you. I saw the kind of future you two would build, the unprecedented things that you were meant to achieve, so I couldn't just sit back and hide when you came looking for me. But I knew that you, especially, were already hesitant to accept my help so I didn't want to give you any more reason to doubt me. I thought it would be best if you didn't know how my abilities really worked, that way you might become more willing to listen to my advice. It might sound odd, but it made sense at the time. I never intended to lie to you and I'm sorry I did, but I hope now you can see my reasoning behind it._

 _I sent this gift as an apology of sorts. I know you said you weren't interested in this kind of thing but I really couldn't think of anything else. I overheard someone saying that your chakra nature is water, whatever that means, so I asked the silkmakers to make something special for you. I don't know what it looks like but I hope you like it._

 _It would be great to see you again._

 _Regards,_

 _Aroka_

Tobirama read the letter twice before lowering himself into the chair behind him.

Sighing, he glanced over the letter once more as he leaned his head on one hand, contemplating what he should do.

Come to think of it, why had he been so upset in the first place? She hadn't done anything wrong, necessarily, and she had been quite helpful regardless. But there was just something about her knowingly harming herself that he didn't like, even just thinking about it made his blood rise.

But why did it bother him?

He couldn't say.

* * *

Aroka leaned against her desk lazily as her eyes dragged across the words on the page in front of her. A small vase of little blue flowers sat on one side of the table, vibrant and lively, having just been plucked earlier that day.

"Miss, you have visitors." Mila called from just outside the door.

"Let them in." she answered promptly, closing her book and tucking it away.

The door slid open quietly and she watched as the two lines approached hers, just barely brushing it as the men sat down across from her.

"You're not nearly as comfortable around my chakra as your brother." she observed amusedly, eyes locking with those of the younger man.

"I'm not used to it is all." Izuna replied. Though his tone was polite, he was clearly on edge from being surrounded by such prominent, foreign chakra.

"Well anyways, it's nice to meet you. My name is Aroka, though I'm sure you already knew that."

"My brother has told me about you." he confirmed.

"In that case I'll skip the explanation. Now what can I help you two with?" she inquired, leaning forward with interest.

"I want to know exactly what would happen if I were to accept Hashirama's treaty." Madara stated directly.

Aroka hummed and tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"That's far too complicated to cover in one day... How about this, I'll tell you what would happen if you don't." she smiled. "Unfortunately, if the war keeps going as it has, your clan will die out in just a few years."

Both brothers tensed at this.

"Impossible." Madara narrowed his eyes. "Why should I believe you?"

"Believe me or not, we both know things haven't been going so well for you. Too many of your men are dying, not to mention the war is taking its toll on everyone in your clan, not just the shinobi. It might not be an easy thought, but things aren't always going to go the way you want them to." Aroka explained sympathetically. "I'm not going to tell you how to lead your clan, but I do recommend that you make peace with the Senju as soon as possible."

Madara frowned, remaining silent for a moment.

"You can see the future, so tell me, will a treaty be made or not?"

"No, no, that's not how it works." Aroka shook her head. "You have to make that decision on your own."

"And why is that?"

"Because I've seen the possibilities and the timelines in which I tell you what to do doesn't end nearly as well as the ones in which I don't."

"How many 'timelines' can you see?"

"As many as exist."

"How could you possibly manage an infinite number like that?"

"Well first off, they don't appear unless I look for them. Secondly, you _really_ seem to doubt my abilities." she observed, unimpressed.

"If that was the case, I wouldn't be here." Madara scoffed. "I need to know what you can and can't predict if you're going to be helping us."

"Who said I'm going to be helping you?"

"You just did."

Aroka huffed and shook her head, though an amused smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Is that all you came to talk about? Because I know a certain Senju leader is anxiously awaiting your decision…"

Madara tsked and stood up in one silent motion, his brother following suit.

"We'll be seeing each other again soon." he stated plainly.

"Can't wait." she waved with a smile as the two disappeared in a puff of smoke.


	12. Tensions Run High

Hashirama had gone to visit Aroka alone after his brother vehemently refused to come along, he had told her about the situation with Madara and how the clans' conflicts seemed to be slowing down, all of which she'd already known, of course, and she advised him to continue as he had been, that things would come together sooner than he thought.

A month had passed since then and, true to her word, everything seemed to be progressing nicely: both sides had begun to actively avoid battle, territorial clashes were few and far between, and casualty rates were dropping steadily.

Just three days ago, Madara had confronted him on the battlefield and, much to everyone's surprise, offered a truce. Hashirama was more than ecstatic, despite the Uchiha's claim that it would only be temporary, and immediately agreed.

Being far more skeptical of this apparent resolution, Tobirama had a been disgruntled witness to his brother's non-stop celebration these past few days. Hashirama was cheerier than ever, the insufferable grin he wore all day was beginning to get on his nerves and he honestly didn't know how much more he could take.

"Tobirama~!" an all too happy voice sang from behind him.

Sighing heavily, he turned to see a smiling Hashirama bouncing towards him.

"I've been looking for you all day! Why does it feel like you've been avoiding me?" he pouted.

Sighing again, Tobirama ignored the older man and continued walking.

"I have an idea!" Hashirama declared as he moved to catch up. "It's about time we pay Aroka a visit and tell her the news! She'll be excited to hear about the treaty, don't you think?"

"Brother, you've been suggesting that for the past three days."

"Have I? I must have forgotten! But anyways, she should still know, right?"

"Write a letter."

"No, no, we should tell her in person! After all, we wouldn't have gotten here without her help!"

"No."

"Don't be such a grump, Tobirama, we should go thank her!"

"No."

"Come on, it's only polite!"

"No."

Hashirama sighed at his brother's stubbornness; he was still holding onto whatever grudge he had against her. Racking his brain for ideas, he considered his options for a brief moment before a sly grin crept across his face.

"Ah… I know why you don't want to go." he stated, nodding wisely. "You like her."

Tobirama stopped and turned around, glaring at him sharply.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't worry, I get it. You think she knows you like her and you're _embarrassed_ , I understand~!"

"That's not-"

"OH YOUNG LOVE!" he shouted, hand over his heart and leaning on the wall dramatically. "What a beautiful thing! I'll have to tell our friend Aroka that my dear little brother _likes_ her! I'll make sure you two are the cutest couple the shinobi world has ever seen!" he declared with gleaming tears in his eyes.

Tobirama sighed yet again, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"If I agree to go will you shut up?"

Hashirama broke out in a grin.

"Yes! Then it's settled! We leave for the Imada tomorrow!" he smiled triumphantly, swiftly patting him on the back before skipping away and out of sight.

* * *

"This better give us something useful."

"Lighten up! We're visiting a friend!"

"I wouldn't consider her a friend."

"You should, she's helped us a lot. Besides, it's been over a month, don't you want to check up on her? You were pretty upset when you found out about her… you know."

"I was not upset."

"Mm, if you say so…"

The Senju brothers, having spent the whole day traveling, were quickly approaching their destination and, judging from the gradually thinning forest around them, they shouldn't be much longer.

As expected, the trees soon dwindled and disappeared as the pair emerged from the forest, the familiar little village lying just on the other side of the field before them. Something was different about it though. As the brothers drew closer to the gates they noticed the increasingly colorful decorations dotting the houses and streets of the town as well as the abnormally large number of villagers moving about.

"What's this?" Tobirama asked, squinting at the lively colors. "A festival?"

"I'm not aware of any that would be happening now." Hashirama mused curiously as he nodded to the guards who quickly opened the steel gates.

"Impressive."

Now inside the village, the brothers were both surprised at the extent to which the whole place was decorated. Multicolored flower wreaths hung prominently on the stone walls lining the streets, spaced evenly with large white silken bows adorning the top of each. Above these hung strings of white square lanterns, surely holding candles that waited patiently to shine their light. Intermittently, with each stone post they came upon, they noticed large eight-petaled bows made with intricately designed silk ribbons shaped in a way that must have been impossible. They displayed every color and pattern imaginable, though many of them, oddly enough, bore depictions of what seemed to be small white worms.

As they drew closer to the central compound, it became abundantly clear that whatever event was happening must be of enormous importance to warrant this level of decoration.

The steps leading up to the entrance were entangled in endless strings of flowers, wrapping around the handrails and dotting the walkways with multicolored petals. Paper lanterns hung near the top of each and every wooden beam, identical to the ones they'd seen a moment before, and two large, skillfully designed silk bows adorned either side of the main door, both of a vibrant purple hue.

Making their way into the compound, they noticed a distinct lack of people around. Though they knew the compound had quite a small number of servants for such a large building, there were always at least a handful of people in the halls at any time. Today, they hadn't seen anyone inside the compound, much in contrast to the rest of the bustling village.

Soon, the brothers arrived at the familiar double doors in front of which, much to their relief, stood Mila.

"Oh! Senju-sama! I didn't know you were here." she bowed swiftly, surprised at their sudden appearance.

"It's good to see you again." Hashirama grinned, "Say, where is everybody? The compound almost seems empty."

"It mostly is; many of the servants have gone home to prepare for the festival and the members of the main branch are having a private gathering at the moment." Mila explained.

"Is Aroka there as well?"

"No, actually, she doesn't like going to those kinds of things. She's inside." the brunette nodded towards the door behind her.

"Is she busy? We'd like to speak with her if you don't mind."

"Of course, of course." Mila turned and knocked on the door lightly. "Miss, you have visitors." she called.

When there was no response, she knocked again.

"Miss."

When there was again no response, she cracked open the door and glanced inside. Aroka sat behind her table, head leaning downcast against one hand while the other held a loose grip on a book.

"Miss?"

Aroka's head snapped up, clearly dazed.

"Huh? What is- oh! Come in, come in! Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." she rubbed her eyes and quickly tucked away the book she'd held, regaining her composure.

"Aroka! It's great to see you again!" Hashirama beamed as he skipped into the room and dropped into one of the seat across from her.

"It's been months since you last came by, huh?" she grinned childishly, though her smile faltered as she turned to the younger Senju who had now also taken a seat. "Nice to see you again, Tobirama." she offered a small smile.

The man only nodded, not that she could see it.

"So what's this festival we've been hearing about? We were surprised to see the village decorated like that." Hashirama asked, glinting eyes shifting between the two.

"Oh, it's the annual silk festival! We celebrate our history with silk and honor the village's weavers. It's also when the main family holds competitions to choose new house silkmakers." Aroka explained. "It's the biggest festival of the year so people are always very excited for it."

Hashirama nodded with curiosity.

"How interesting! I believe someone told us about it once, I didn't know it was such a big event! When will the festival begin?" he inquired.

"Tomorrow night! You two came just in time!" Aroka grinned, clapping her hands together. "It's a big deal, there'll be music, dancing, performances, and everything else you can think of! The whole village will be there and it'll be lots of fun, I can't wait!" she cheered gleefully.

"Sounds exciting! Do you think we can tag along?"

"Of course! We love visitors, especially during festival season." she grinned before clearing her throat. "But anyways, you didn't come all the way here to listen to me go on about that, so what can I do for you?"

"Actually we just wanted to thank you for all your help. Madara's agreed to a peace treaty and it's essentially already in effect! Things are going just as you said." Hashirama explained cheerfully, "We really can't thank you enough."

"Oh, I'm always happy to help." Aroka smiled, waving nonchalantly. "I'm glad things are going well between your clans."

"I'm glad we could get through to Madara, I don't know how we pulled it off but we definitely owe you!"

"You can pay me back by making sure that village of yours gets off to a good start." she chuckled. "Oh! I just remembered that Toru has something to discuss with you two, he mentioned it when he heard you were coming. Something to do with your medics, I think? His meeting just ended so he'll be in his office in just a bit, you should go, it sounded important."

The brothers glanced at each other.

"Really? In that case we'll go see what he has to say. I hope we can talk again later." Hashirama smiled.

"Of course, we still have a lot to catch up on. Now go, I'll see you when you're done." she waved as the two made their way out of the room.

* * *

As the sun began to dim above the festival-laden village, Aroka sighed impatiently as she examined the timeline before her. Tobirama, Hashirama, and Toru's lines had remained still for the past few hours, locked in a three-point formation that she was increasingly tired of looking at. Sure she had known it would take a while, she just didn't think it would take _this_ long. What could they possibly be talking about that would drag on like this, anyways? Though come to think of it, Toru and Hashirama both have quite the mouth on them, they certainly wouldn't have any trouble chatting about nothing for hours on end. If that was the case, her prayers were with Tobirama, she could hardly even think about being stuck in a conversation like that without immediately getting a headache.

Maybe she should rest for a bit, after all it would be a while before those three finished their meeting. She'd been oddly tired these past few weeks for no apparent reason. Maybe the boredom of sitting alone in a room all day was finally getting to her..

 _Knock knock_

…

 _Knock knock_

...

"Psst! Aroka!"

The seer stirred opened her eyes reluctantly. With a groan, she lifted her head off the table and turned towards the door.

"Oh, Hashirama." she smiled tiredly, "Please come in."

The said main slid open the door and grinned before stepping into the chakra coated room, though he almost didn't notice the change.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." he smiled sheepishly.

"No, no, I was waiting for you to finish up with Toru anyways. Tobirama's not here?" she asked despite already knowing the answer.

"No, he went to speak with the medics, I just thought I should check back in with you. But speaking of Tobirama, how are things between you two?"

Aroka sighed before leaning her head against one hand.

"I don't know, I think he's still upset about what I said last time we met."

Hashirama's expression softened as he rested his elbows on the table.

"He's not upset; he's just worried about you. He doesn't want you to hurt yourself by helping us."

"Mm, I don't know… I don't want him to be mad at me but I don't know if I should say anything. I'm worried I'll just make things worse." she frowned. "Too bad these lines can't help me on this one."

"You should talk to him. I mean, he agreed to come here, right? I don't think he's as upset as you think."

"Really? I hope so…" she sighed again, eyes downcast.

"Hey, don't be upset. Tobirama's never been good at showing his emotions, he might seem cold and indifferent but he likes you a lot more than he lets on." Hashirama winked.

Aroka chuckled quietly, shifting in her seat.

"Sure…" she scoffed, though admittedly she did feel a bit better.

"Hey, it's true! As his big brother I can read him much better than most! I can confidently say that little Tobirama has a soft spot for our dear Aroka!" he declared dramatically, eyes sparkling with inspiration.

The amused woman smiled softly at his antics, tilting her head amusedly. If nothing else, he was certainly fun to be around.

"Thanks Hashirama."


	13. Festival Day

The morning of the silk festival was finally here and the little village was busier than ever with last-minute preparations, everything from putting out decorations to getting their kimonos fitted, the streets were alive and bustling before the sun even peeked its head.

Among the latter group were the two Senju visitors who, upon Toru's insistence, were getting their measurements taken so the servants could pick out fitting kimonos for them to wear that night. As expected, one of them was considerably less enthusiastic about it.

"What's the point of this again?" Tobirama frowned as a servant shuffled around him.

"Don't be so uptight, it's a day of celebration!" Hashirama beamed, letting his arm fall back to his side as the servant scribbled something down.

"But do we need all this? It's pointless." he scoffed.

"It's not pointless! If we're going to the Imada silk festival, it's only appropriate to wear their silk! Besides, don't you want to look nice for a certain someone?" he wiggled his eyebrows, breaking out in a sly grin.

"Idiot. That "certain someone" is blind, remember?"

"But you knew who I was talking about, hmm~"

"Do you have a problem?"

"I'm not the one with the problem!"

"I don't have time for this."

"There's always time for lo- OUCH!"

The young servant glanced nervously between the two before slowly moving to pick up the measuring stick.

* * *

"You know, Mila, you should be with your family right now." Aroka thought aloud from her usual spot behind the small table.

Mila, also in her usual spot, smiled slightly, not that the seer could see it.

"If I was then who would help you around during the festival?" she chuckled teasingly.

"It's not like I ever actually get to enjoy the festival, anyways. You know how they always make me sit with Toru and the advisors the whole time." she huffed. "If he's the one making you stay I can yell at him for you."

"No, no, he's not! I just want to be there in case you need anything. Plus, you'll have someone you talk to, right?"

At this, Aroka brought a hand to her heart, leaning on her desk dramatically.

"Oh Mila, what did I ever do to deserve you?" she wept.

"No it's nothing! I'm just doing what I can." she smiled, scratching her neck sheepishly.

* * *

As it grew closer to nightfall, the energy in the village became more and more noticeable. The normally quiet, sleepy town was ever so excited for the much-anticipated festival and they weren't afraid to show it. Aroka, for one, certainly had no argument against this, in fact she could hardly hold still as the servants helped her into her festival kimono. She bounced in place with a smile etched across her lips.

"Just a while longer." Mila grinned upon seeing the excitement radiating off her friend. She was also being helped into her festival attire.

"Just a while longer!" Aroka echoed in a sing-song voice.

The kimonos the two women donned were much more ornate than their usual robes; Mila had chosen an emerald green design that featured white cranes in mid-flight along the bottom of the garment, paired with a white and gold sash tied around her waist. Aroka's was a rich violet hue with small pink and white blossoms trailing from her mid-chest all the way down to the hem of the kimono. Her pink and silver sash was secured in an ornate four-petaled bow at her lower back.

Once the rich garment had been secured and her hair pinned back, Aroka, who had withdrawn her chakra from the room for the servants' comfort, took a few cautious steps towards Mila who instinctively reached out to support her.

"How many people do you think are going to win the competition this year?" she asked as the brunette gently took hold of her arm.

"Well there were no winners last year, maybe we'll get one of two this time around." she guessed, "But there's only one way to find out, right?"

"Maybe for you~" Aroka teased, bringing a finger up to her temple.

"Hey, don't spoil it! Suspense is the best part!"

"Sure it is…" Aroka chuckled. "Anyways, we should get going, everyone's waiting for us at the entrance."

As the servants disbanded, off to busy themselves with their own preparations, the two women quickly made their way to the front of the compound.

"Aroka, there you are! You look great!" Toru raced up to the pair as they stepped into view.

"Thanks, so do you." she smiled humorously, following him back to the small group.

Among the gathered were the clan's twelve advisors, the chief elder, and a number of main branch members whose lines Aroka was only barely familiar with, all of whom wore kimonos of purple hues. Along the sidelines also stood the two Senju visitors.

"Alright, now that we're all here let's get going!" Toru announced, weaving his way to the head of the group as he pulled Aroka along with him.

Despite the sun having just begun to set, the streets were already beginning to fill with excited villagers eager to get an early start to the festivities. Each attendee donned their finest kimono, many of which had been homemade, though one would never be able to tell at a glance. Vendors had already set out their stands and were grouped into large clusters with others who sold similar goods; colorful lanterns were being displayed next to silky, gleaming fans while just across the street sat a group of food vendors that emitted delicious smells and plumes of smoke.

The Senju brothers followed near the back of the procession, taking in the flood of colors, smells, and sounds that threatened to overwhelm their senses.

"What an exciting day!" Hashirama beamed as they continued deeper into the heart of the village.

Tobirama glanced around, a small grimace on his features.

"And I thought our festivals were loud…"

The group soon arrived at the village square where a large stage had been set up seemingly overnight, it's surface made of a dark, indistinguishable material that gleamed under the fading sunlight. Behind the stage was a raised platform that had been closed off, surrounded by railing that partially obscured the few dozen seats behind it. It was positioned in such a way that someone sitting there would have their back to a cluster of unoccupied buildings while the festival's main street lay to their left and right.

The group of violet-clad leaders, along with the Senju pair, made their way into the partitioned area, each taking a seat in apparently random order. Toru sat at the center of the front row with Aroka and Mila a few seats behind him, Tobirama next to Aroka with Hashirama on his other side.

"Hey, what's all this about?" Hashirama asked curiously, leaning closer to the two women.

"This is the section for members of the main family and other important leaders." Mila all but yelled, also leaning over so she could be heard above the noise.

"How long do they stay here?"

"As long as the festival lasts."

"What?! You don't get to participate in the festival?"

"Not really, it's a tradition that the village's leaders 'keep watch' during the celebration."

"You guys don't need to stay here; you should go have fun!" Aroka piped in encouragingly. "And you too Mila, I don't want you to miss out on the festival again because of me."

"I already said I would stay with you, otherwise you might die of boredom." Mila laughed.

Upon hearing this, Hashirama's eyes shifted between the two to his left and a sly grin crept across his face.

"I have an idea!" he announced suddenly. "You deserve a break, Mila, and I need someone to show me around the festival. How about my dear brother here keeps Aroka company for a while? That way you can enjoy the festival without having to worry about her being alone!"

"Um..." Mila blinked, eyeing Hashirama questioningly. "I don't know…"

"It'll be fine! Aroka, don't you think Mila deserves to have some fun?" he turned to the seer enthusiastically.

"Of course, I'll be fine, Mila, you just go enjoy yourself ok?" she urged as her friend hesitantly stood up.

"I-"

"Great! Then in that case we're off!" Hashirama declared, rushing Mila off the platform before turning back to the seated pair. "Have fun you two!"

Aroka blinked a few times as the familiar lines quickly grew further from her own.

"What was that about?" she tilted her head.

"That idiot…" Tobirama muttered, having quite clearly seen the wink his brother sent him before he left. "I swear the next time I see him…"

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"Nothing."

As the next hour crept by, the two were silent, not a word nor glance exchanged between them. The noises of the festival around them was loud, yet not loud enough to fill the silence. Aroka, for one, was growing more anxious by the minute, fidgeting with her hands and trying to come up with the right words to say.

"You know…" she said finally, "You really don't have to stay with me. You should go enjoy the festival."

For a moment there was no response and Aroka's nerves were ready to explode.

"Why do you like it so much?" Tobirama asked suddenly.

"Hm?" Aroka blinked, caught off guard by the question.

"This festival. You were excited when you were talking about it yet you don't even get to participate. So why?"

Aroka's eyes lowered in contemplation; she'd never really thought about it before.

"I suppose it's just because everyone else is excited." she smiled softly. "I don't really get to be around many people in my daily life so seeing everyone gathered in one place, happy about the same thing, it makes me feel less… alone? I don't know."

Tobirama glanced down at her, studying the seer with an unreadable expression.

"Why do you always isolate yourself in your room?" he asked, again taking her by surprise.

"I don't mean to, it's just difficult when I can't see. Outside my room I have to rely on someone to guide me and it's a lot to ask of anyone, even Mila, so I tend to stay inside where I can at least see to some extent with my chakra." she explained, eyes still downcast.

As she was met with no response, another silence fell between them, heavier this time. She was just about to give up on reconciling with the man when she heard a rustling noise beside her.

"Get up."

She turned towards him in confusion.

"What?"

"Get up." he repeated, pulling her up by the hand.

"Where are we going?"

"To the festival."

"Wait, Tobirama, I'm not supposed to leave the-"

"Didn't you tell me to go enjoy the festival?"

"Yes but-"

"Then you're coming with me." he pulled her off the partitioned platform, leaving no room for argument.

Toru, for reasons unknown to him, glanced back at the seats behind him just in time to see Aroka stepping off the stage, led by the younger Senju. He frowned and opened his mouth before closing it again, realizing there was no way she would hear him through over all the commotion. He could only sit back and reluctantly watch her disappear among the crowd.

As the pair slipped into the bustling streets, Aroka clung closer to Tobirama for fear of getting lost, pressing firmly against his arm while his hand still held hers. She felt dozens of passerbys bump and brush past her as they made their way deeper into the noise of the festival.

"Where are we going?" she tugged at his sleeve, still concerned about leaving the others.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked in return.

"I… I don't know, I've never been outside the seating platform before."

"Hn."

As the two continued down the lively street, Tobirama noticed that a number of villagers were quite surprised upon seeing Aroka, though when he glanced down at her it was clear she paid this no mind, if she even noticed at all.

The night's spring air was warm and fresh, under the soft glow of the lanterns it almost seemed like a different reality; neither quite sure of where they were headed, though neither minded anyways.

As they continued their journey with no destination, Aroka noticed fewer and fewer people bumping into her; the crowd was becoming thinner as they grew further from the heart of the village. The noises were steadily quieting as well and soon they could almost hear the insects singing their midnight songs, the roar of the festival only a distant rumble.

"Where are we?" she asked, no longer clinging to him as there were now few others around.

"A pond." Tobirama answered, a bit surprised himself. He had never seen it before, but that was probably because he hadn't been in this part of the village until now.

"Oh, really? We've gone further than I thought." Aroka mused, staring blankly ahead. "There's a bench somewhere around here…"

Tobirama, having already noticed the stone seat, guided her over to where it sat facing the center of the pond. Aroka was rather disappointed when his hand let go of hers but was again reassured when she felt him settle not far to her right.

"It's nice, isn't it?" she thought aloud, staring warmly at the pond.

"How would you know?" Tobirama asked, though his tone was much softer than his words.

"I've seen it before." she chuckled nostalgically. "When we were younger Mila and I would come down here sometimes. I'd always wanted to see it so one day, when no one else was around, I let my chakra spread over the pond. It was the really pretty, the first one I'd ever seen; I remember there were frogs in the water that day, a swan too!" she laughed.

Tobirama glanced at the woman beside him, his gaze remaining longer this time.

"Does it have a name?" he asked, watching her stare unseeingly into the waters.

"It does." she nodded, though her smile faltered noticeably. "Hayako Pond."

Tobirama paused, quickly remembering why the name seemed so familiar.

"Hayako. The first seer." he recalled.

Aroka looked down at her lap.

"Look, about what happened that night," she bit her lip. "I know I should have told you sooner, I didn't mean to lie to you, I just… I don't know...I thought it would be better if you didn't have to worry about it..."

Tobirama remained silent, prompting Aroka's anxiety to skyrocket.

"Please don't be upset." she turned to him pleadingly, hands softly clutching his arm. "I know I shouldn't have, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-"

She was cut off by a pair of warm lips against hers.

She instantly froze, eyes widening with shock, but as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

A long silence fell between them as Aroka blinked repeatedly.

"I'm… I didn't mean to do that." Tobirama said quickly, averting his eyes once he realized what he'd done. He didn't know what came over him. What was he thinking? She would never want anything to do with him after such an unwelcome gesture. He had to leave.

Quickly, he stood up and started back towards the center of the village, eager to run from his mistake, but before he could take two steps something stopped him.

He looked back to see Aroka gasping his arm between her hands, eyes round with an emotion he couldn't quite identify. Though he knew she couldn't see him, her eyes bore directly into his and, for some reason, the thought of escaping vanished from his mind.

They stood like that for a long while, silent, staring into each other's eyes, until Aroka finally took a step forward and wrapped her arms around him. After a few moments she felt strong arms pull her closer, causing her heart skip a beat. She didn't have the right words to say but that didn't matter. She simply smiled and closed her eyes, burying her head in his chest.


	14. Brothers and Conflicts

The past few months has been a series of successes as far as Hashirama Senju was concerned. Not only has the peace treaty between the Uchiha clan and his own been upheld without incident, but he was even rekindling his friendship with Madara who was, admittedly, still rather hostile around him. However, this seemed to be changing slowly as the two had been talking about joining forces to build the village they'd always dreamed of as children: a place where clans could put aside their differences and live together peacefully, where children no longer had to grow up surrounded by blood and death. That was the kind of world they wanted build. And they did.

The village, though still under construction, was moving along smoothly, looking more and more like it was meant to each day. The progress was overseen by the Senju and Uchiha brothers, the four of whom together held so much authority that it was almost frightening. Tensions were clear and present among the opposing clansmen yet none dared to misstep while their leaders remained allied, thus fortunately they had yet to see any significant conflict.

"Aroka!" Hashirama beamed as he entered the seer's chakra-laden room, rushing to give her a hug. "We missed you!"

"Don't lump me together with you, idiot." Madara shot irritably as he followed close behind, crossing his arms and taking a seat in front of the desk.

"I missed you too." Aroka laughed, returning the hug. "And you, Madara."

The four leaders had made a habit of dropping by the Imada compound as of late, despite the small village being nearly two days' journey from the growing Konohagakure, as they had named it. Though they visited often, every two weeks or so, they never all came, it was only ever two of them; usually Hashirama and Madara or Tobirama and Izuna, seeing as both sides agreed to have "equal opportunities" to consult the seer. Well, consult might not be the right word. Hashirama usually just liked to chat about the village's progress while Tobirama and Izuna were always too preoccupied with trying to glare each other to death to get any business done.

"Aroka! The village is going great! We decided where all the clan compounds are going to be and the academy building was just finished and we're going to build a tower at the center of the place and it's wonderful!"

"How exciting." Aroka smiled, tilting her head in amusement. Hashirama always became a bit too excited when it came to the village. "How much longer do you think it'll take to complete?"

"Not long, I hope! If all goes well Konoha should be finished in just a month or so!" he beamed.

"So soon? Impressive…"

"Hey, you should come and take a look! I'm sure you'll love it, there's a cliff right next to it and waterfall nearby, it's such a beautiful place!"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to disturb the builders. Maybe I'll visit when everything's complete." she smiled before turning to the silent Uchiha. "Say, how's Izuna been? He seemed quite tired last time he came by."

"He has been helping with the village in addition to his usual role in clan affairs. He's adjusting to the pressure." Madara explained stoically.

"Oh dear... he should be getting more rest." she frowned, resting her head on her hands. "Poor boy."

"He's older than you."

"Such a good kid." she shook her head, ignoring the comment. "Tell him he needs to take better care of himself if he already has so much to worry about, ok?"

Madara only gave her a strange look.

"But anyways, do you two have anything to ask me or did you come all this way just to chat?" she chuckled, tilting her head.

"Hey! Can't we come by to say hi to our friend? We aren't always looking for favors, you know." Hashirama pouted.

"Ok, ok." she laughed lightheartedly. "My bad for assuming."

"But we do need one this time." he admitted, prompting her to raise an eyebrow in amusement. "The new village is going to need a leader and our clans can't seem agree on who it should be. Personally, I think it should be Madara but we thought we'd better ask you."

Aroka hummed and tapped her chin.

"Well I can't just _tell you_ what to do, that's not how it works."

"But you've told us what to do before!"

"For important things, things with big enough consequences. If I were to tell you what to do in every situation you would never have to think for yourself."

"But this could be important! What if the village doesn't like who we pick?"

"One side is going to be unhappy no matter who gets the title, you don't need to be a seer to know that."

"But Arokaaaa!"

"No buts! I'm happy to help with certain things but you'll have to make this decision for yourselves." she said finally, leaving no room for argument. "Now it's getting late, as always you two are welcome to stay the night if you'd like. I, for one, am going to sleep."

Taking this as their cue to leave, the two shinobi bid their farewells and excused themselves. Rather worn from the long days of travelling, the pair silently agreed to take her up on her offer, after all, Tobirama and Izuna could run the village for a while longer.

Right?

* * *

"Uchiha, I thought I told you to address the Sarutobi's issue with their new compound."

"I don't take orders from the likes of you, I already have enough to do."

"Clearly it hasn't gotten through your thick skull yet, but responsibilities don't just go away because you're incompetent."

"Bold words from someone who never does anything but shout orders."

"My clansmen know how to listen to their superiors, I can't say the same for you."

"Maybe one day you'll have the skills to back up that ego of yours."

"I already have the skills to cut your head off, want to test it out?"

"I would be scared if that came from anyone even remotely worth my time."

The two young leaders glared daggers as each other as they stood in the middle of the unfinished village, both only barely containing their vast hatred for the other. Around them, builders from both clans went out of their way to keep their distance, creating a ten-meter circle around the two where none dared to step.

To no one's surprise, this wasn't at all an uncommon sight, not when their older counterparts were gone anyways. The younger leaders definitely had it out for each other and it was honestly a wonder how a fight hadn't broken out yet.

Leaving these two alone was a recipe for disaster, and their conflicts weren't limited to the village either.

* * *

"So, um…" Aroka glanced nervously between the two men that sat in front of her, both of whom were so focused on mentally strangling the other that they didn't seem to notice her at all. "...can I help you with anything…?"

Neither Tobirama nor Izuna gave any hint of having heard her, instead they did what they do best: glare.

Aroka sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Stop it!" she demanded, successfully capturing both of their attentions. "I can't deal with this anymore! Tobirama, out!"

The said man frowned sharply.

"What?"

"Since you two don't know how to act properly around each other, I'm going to speak to you one at a time. So Tobirama, shoo." she waved dismissively.

Clearly disgruntled about being ordered around, the Senju nonetheless stood and strode out of the room, shutting the door behind him rather forcefully.

Now with only Izuna left, Aroka sighed and leaned against her hand.

"Why do you two always do this?" she mumbled tiredly.

"Sorry about that..." Izuna apologized, almost sounding embarrassed. "You know we don't get along."

"That doesn't mean you can't at least pretend to tolerate each other for the few hours you're here. How am I supposed to help you when you completely ignore me?" she huffed.

Izuna scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I didn't mean to, I hope you're not upset…"

"Oh Izuna, you're so cute." she chuckled amusedly. "Of course I'm not upset. Tobirama can be an ass but you need to learn to play nice, alright?"

He averted his eyes and nodded slowly.

"Good! Now back to why you're here, is there anything you want to ask me?" she leaned forward, resting her chin atop her clasped hands.

"Well, my brother seems to think our clan is growing restless, he's having second thoughts about the treaty." he admitted, fidgeting a bit.

"It is a pretty drastic change; he's probably going to need some time to adjust."

"I'm concerned he's going to do something that might inadvertently hurt our clan."

Aroka blinked slowly, tilting her head.

"You're concerned the treaty isn't in your best interest." she stated knowingly.

His downcast eyes confirmed her suspicion.

"Izuna, I know there's a lot of bad blood between your clans and I know it's not something you can just forget about, but the treaty can ensure that future generations don't have to live with your pain and anger. They won't have to grow up like you and your brother did, all that blood and fighting, they can just be the way kids are meant to be. If not for yourself, think of the next generation; wouldn't you want your children to live in a better world?"

He remained silent for a moment, eyes still glued to the table.

"You sure know how to convince someone." he sighed, cracking a slight smile.

"Talking is what I do best!" she grinned. "So don't worry about your brother for now and at least try and get along with Tobirama, ok?

"No promises..."

"Izuna."

"Fine, I'll try."

"Great! Now go call him in for me, will you?"

Izuna sighed unenthusiastically but stood up nonetheless, stepping out of the room. A few moments later, Tobirama emerged and took the same seat in front of her.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"What was what?"

"What did you tell him?"

"Nosy, aren't we?"

"Aroka."

"Tobirama."

He narrowed his eyes sharply, glaring as if it might intimidate her.

"You know, this whole alliance thing isn't going to work if you don't tone down the little rivalry you two have going on." Aroka pointed out nonchalantly.

"Easy for you to say." he scoffed.

"If you want a better future then you have to let the past be the past. Regardless of what happened then, there's nothing you can do to change it, all we can do is work for a better tomorrow."

"I didn't come here for a lecture."

"Well that's all you're getting until you learn to play nice with Izuna. In fact, don't come back until you two can sit in the same room without trying to strangle each other." she crossed her arms.

"What?"

"That means get out. Go on, shoo." she waved him away. "Mila! Please walk our guests to the door!"

The said woman slid the door open and bowed politely, motioning for him to come with her.

Tobirama scoffed and after sending Aroka one last glare, indignantly stepped out of the room.

* * *

"Did you really have to kick them out, Miss? They travelled a long way to come here." Mila asked sympathetically once she'd returned to her usual spot.

"It's for their own good. If they don't start getting along soon it'll cause unnecessary conflict in the future." Aroka stated.

"We could have let them stay the night like usual…"

"Then they'd be in separate rooms, you can't learn to get along with someone like that, can you?"

Mila sighed with concern.

"Will they ever be able to get along...?" she wondered aloud.

"Only one way to tell!"

* * *

"That damn Uchiha! How am I supposed to tolerate someone as worthless as him?!" Tobirama fumed as his brother watched in amusement. "And speaking of worthless, I told you that woman wasn't worth our time! The alliance is already established, what else could we possibly need her for?"

"Sounds like you're just upset she didn't want to talk to you." Hashirama commented suggestively.

Turns out, that didn't do much to calm him down.

* * *

"I'm not going back there ever again." Izuna declared, lying face down on his bed.

"And why is that?" Madara questioned halfheartedly.

"Aroka's trying to make me get along with that Senju idiot. Like hell I will." he scoffed, planting his face deeper into the pillow.

"That's it?" Madara snickered. "In that case just do what I do and pretend you tolerate him."

"...but you aren't very convincing…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"


	15. Back Again

A number of months had passed and the village was finally completed. Thanks to the combined effort of the builders, all that was left was for a few clans to finish moving into the shiny new compounds and Konoha would finally be the gleaming beacon it's founders had intended it to be.

Speaking of the founders however, it seems they had hit a bump in the road; the road of premonitive assistance they'd been receiving, that is. It turns out the seer hadn't been joking when she said she wouldn't help them until the younger pair learned to get along.

When Hashirama and Madara had gone to visit her two weeks after the incident, they had been turned away at the door where Mila reluctantly informed them that Aroka would only speak to Tobirama and Izuna.

The week after that, the said pair begrudgingly made the trip to see the seer but had barely made it two steps into the room when they shot each other the usual 'I hate you and hope you die' look, consequently getting themselves thrown out once again.

The next week, the pair returned to the silkmakers' village after promising their brothers they would be successful this time and lasted a solid five minutes before Tobirama's urge to throw an insult finally took over and they were promptly kicked out.

Another week passed and they reasoned that having one of them going alone was the best way to avoid conflict, and so Izuna was sent on a solo mission to win Aroka over. He didn't even make it inside the village.

Many more attempts followed, all ending in various degrees of failure, this proved to be a growing headache for Hashirama as the number of issues he needed advice on was growing by the day. Turns out running a village isn't easy work.

"Listen up you two! You're going back to the Imada village and this time it's going to work! I can't stress enough how important it is that you get on her good side!" Hashirama stated anxiously. He grabbed an unfurled scroll off his desk and held it up. "Here are a list of things we need advice on, listed from most to least urgent. Please get answers on at least a few of these." he urged, handing the paper to his brother whom was clearly less than willing to make yet another pointless trip.

"No promises."

"Tobirama!"

"Fine, whatever. Let's just get this over with."

"We'll do our best, Hashirama-san."

"I can always count on you, Izuna. Good luck!"

Tobirama rolled his eyes and swiftly walked out of the room, soon followed by the young Uchiha.

Hashirama sighed heavily, leaning forward to rest his forehead on his desk.

He really, really needed this to work.

* * *

At the conclusion of the familiar week-long journey, the young leaders finally made it to the Imada village, though as many times as they had travelled to this same destination, the weariness of trek still tugged at them. As usual, Mila was waiting for them at the gate.

"Welcome back." she greeted with a bow, "please come with me."

 _Make it through the gate: check_

"How has Aroka been lately?" Izuna inquired, hoping she would go easy on them if she was in a good mood.

"She's been well, nothing out of the ordinary, though she has been anticipating your arrival these past few days."

"What for? It's never more than a few minutes before she chases us out again." Tobirama commented snidely.

"Actually, Miss is quite eager to help you and your brothers, it's just that cooperation is important to her so she's giving you a hard time. Please don't take offense, if you make an effort I'm sure she'll appreciate it." Mila smiled encouragingly.

"We'll try." Izuna assured, "Or at least I will."

Tobirama glared at him and would have shot back with one rude remark or another were it not for the fact that they had made it to Aroka's door. For some reason he was rather uneasy, quite unlike him considering they were in no danger at all, but the churning in his stomach reminded him closely of the sensation he felt before a battle.

"Miss?" Mila knocked lightly.

"Let them in."

Tobirama's stomach twisted as Mila opened the door and beckoned them inside.

 _Make it into the room: check_

"Well if it isn't my favorite Senju-Uchiha pair." Aroka grinned up at them, head resting atop intertwined hands. "How have you two been doing?"

"We've been good, but we do need your advice on a few things regarding the village." Izuna said smoothly, getting right to the point. If they were going to be kicked out they might as well get some answers while they still can, right?

"Ask away."

Recalling the first thing on the scroll Hashirama gave them, Izuna chose his words carefully.

Tobirama, meanwhile, was trying his best to hold back the many comments that flooded his mind as the Uchiha spoke. They had previously come to the conclusion that their best chance at success were if one of them did all the talking and the other remained silent, so as Izuna went down the list they had been given, Tobirama tuned them out, deciding not to risk another lecture from his brother.

* * *

"I have to say, I'm impressed." Aroka grinned in amusement, head resting against her hand. "So it is possible for you two to get along after all."

Izuna nodded nervously, still half expecting himself to say something that might get them thrown out again.

"Thank you for your advice, Aroka, we appreciate it."

"You're cute, Izuna, no need to be so polite." she chuckled, eyes landing on Tobirama briefly. "Ah, it's getting late and I'm sure you're both tired, you two should stay the night."

"That would be great, thank you."

"Mila! Please show them to their rooms."

The door slid open and the brunette bowed slightly, gesturing for the pair to follow her.

Guiding them down the hall and around a corner, she paused and motioned to two of the doors in front of her.

"These are your rooms for the night. Please call if you need anything, someone will be with you right away." Mila bowed again and excused herself, disappearing down the hall.

Tobirama and Izuna, both having had decidedly enough of each other for the day, split off into their respective rooms without a word between them.

* * *

 _Knock knock_

The soft sound pulled Tobirama from his train of thought. Glancing out the window, the pale moon was the only source of light at this hour.

He stood and approached the door silently, sliding it open just enough to see-

"What are you doing here?"

"You didn't seem keen on talking earlier, I thought I could catch you alone." Aroka smiled, "Besides, I couldn't sleep."

Though slightly suspicious, Tobirama moved to allow her to enter.

Aroka smiled again and reached out for the door, slowly tracing it and stepping inside.

"You aren't using your chakra." he observed, closing the door behind her.

"Since you don't like it I thought I'd be considerate. Can we sit?"

Tobirama hummed in acknowledgement and placed a hand on her back, guiding her towards the low-set table.

Taking each step cautiously, she paused when she felt her foot run into something soft, presumably a cushion. As she settled herself and reached out to feel the table, she heard a light shuffling that indicated Tobirama had taken a seat across from her.

"So how has the village been doing?" she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

"Since construction finished it has been growing steadily."

"From what I heard today, Hashirama has some big plans huh? Have you been busy?"

"I've been helping with some of the projects, mainly to do with the structure within our ranks."

"Sounds complicated. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've seen Hashirama and Madara."

"It wouldn't have been if you had spoken to us the first dozen times we came."

"Are you still upset about that? You know I did it for your own good."

"How is refusing to help us 'for our own good?'"

"You and Izuna needed to learn to get along. And it worked, didn't it?"

"That's debatable."

"At least you two are getting along better than before. Now you can listen to Izuna talk without being at his throat every other sentence."

"I'm starting to think you're too fond of that Uchiha."

"Why would you think that?"

"You called him cute."

"Would you feel better if I called you cute too?"

"That's not what I meant!"

Aroka grinned slyly, tilting her head.

"Tobirama, are you jealous?" she teased, voice lowering to a whisper.

"That's ridiculous."

"So you don't mind if I tell Izuna I like him?"

"You _what_?" his eyes narrowed instantly.

"Yea, he's so nice and hardworking, plus I think he likes me too." she rested her chin on her palms, an exaggerated look of dreaminess in her eyes.

Tobirama examined her closely, brows drawn.

"You're lying." he stated flatly.

A mischievous smile crept onto her lips.

"You don't know that."

"I know you don't like him."

"How would you know who I like?"

"If you did you wouldn't be talking to me right now."

"What are you implying, Tobirama?" she tilted her head in feign ignorance.

The Senju scoffed indignantly, eyes cast to the side.

"Aw, don't be embarrassed." she chuckled before stifling a yawn. "Ah, it's late, I should probably get going. Sorry to keep you up."

Aroka stood and stretched her arms, a moment later she felt a warm hand on her back and let it guide her towards the door.

She heard the door slide open and turned to face her companion.

"Thanks for the talk. Get some rest, ok?" she smiled and turned to leave. Before she had taken a step, however, she turned around again. She put both hands on his shoulders and leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Quickly pulling away, she turned and hurried out the door, her rapid footsteps soon fading down the hall.


	16. Konoha

Aroka trailed her fingers along the wall beside her, feeling the smooth wood grain under her touch as she moved down the walkway. After a few minutes, she paused and turned towards where she believed the garden to be. Sure enough, she found the gap in the railing and carefully descended the few steps to meet the paved stone path.

Aroka's room faced the courtyard, beautiful in its own right, but she enjoyed venturing to the flower garden sometimes, despite it being a bit of a walk.

The cool morning air was refreshing against her skin, the sun not yet having risen enough to shine into the garden. These early hours were ideal for her increasingly rare walks around the compound; during the day Mila always insisted on accompanying her and, though she enjoyed her friend's company, it was relaxing to have a moment alone.

Aroka stretched out her fingers, feeling them brush against the leaves of a small bush. This one, she recalled, should be opening its flowers soon. She gently ran a hand over the tips of its branches when she found what she was looking for: a small, closed bud. Lowering to sit on the heels of her feet, she rested a hand on her knee while the other still admired the flower bud. She could still faintly remember what this place smelled like.

She moved further down the path and came to a grove of trees whose leaves were low enough to brush against her raised hand. These trees were old and strong, they had been here as far back as she could recall, she didn't know what kind they were, though, nor if they ever bore flowers.

Aroka paused again at another patch of flowers. These ones were larger than most others in the garden, their stems long and slim, standing tall enough to reach her waist. Her fingertips found some grasses growing alongside the fully-bloomed flowers whose velvety petals bent under her touch.

"You don't have to stand so far away, you know," she called, blank gaze still lingering on the soft blossoms, "I promise I don't bite."

She watched the line move closer to hers until it stopped just a bit away.

"I didn't mean to intrude, I saw you entering this place and was simply curious," Izuna explained, his tone vaguely apologetic.

Aroka smiled and resumed walking, motioning for him to join her. Obliging, he soon fell into step beside the seer.

"Are you usually up so early?" she inquired, eager to fill the silence. She liked silence when she was alone, not so much with others around.

"There's always work to be done in the village."

"You must be busy, are you taking care of yourself? Are you eating properly?"

Izuna chuckled at her concern, "I am, thank you."

"Good, you shouldn't neglect your health." she hummed, taking a brief pause before turning to him again. "Tell me about Konoha. What's it like?"

Izuna thought about it for a moment, "It's lively, I'd say. The streets are always busy and there seem to be more people by the day."

"Are the clans settling well?"

"As well as can be expected. Fortunately, conflicts have been falling in number recently."

"It must be difficult to handle so many people."

"At times. Though I admit it is quite the sight, even recent enemies have made efforts to maintain civility."

"It sounds like a wonderful place, I can't wait to see it."

"Oh? You plan on visiting soon?"

Her step faltered briefly as she seemed suddenly to recall something.

"Ah! I probably shouldn't have said that, you see-"

"Uchiha."

The young man turned to see his white haired counterpart standing a few paces behind them. In his hand was a small piece of paper, its contents obscured from his position. He motioned for Izuna to follow him.

Izuna excused himself to Aroka before approaching Tobirama, both of them disappearing behind the veil of trees.

Aroka stared after them for a moment before continuing further down the path, a small, excited smile painted on her lips.

* * *

"I received that only minutes ago, sent by one of Madara's falcons," Tobirama explained once Izuna had read the message on the folded paper, "They must have sent it no more than a day after we left."

"We must leave now," the raven haired man frowned, standing up quickly.

"Don't be so rash. It's likely the issue has already dealt with. This time, at least."

"What are you suggesting? That we should stand by while the village might be under attack?"

"Of course not. Unlike you, I have the capacity to think past the immediate present." Izuna was about to retort but Tobirama continued before he had the chance, "This will not be a one-time problem. An alliance as massive as Konoha is bound to draw the attention of foreign clans, the perceived threat of the village will move some to join and others to oppose. The men scouting our borders were likely only gathering information this time but it will not be long until they come into conflict with village shinobi. We have enough issues within the village as it is, we cannot risk outside threats so early on. It would save us much trouble to know when enemy shinobi are nearby and which clans they belong to, then we will have time to act accordingly."

Izuna furrowed his brow slightly at what he was implying, "For once we agree on something, but the people here aren't just going to let her leave."

"I will speak to them," Tobirama dismissed.

"Of course, because you're _great_ at negotiating."

Narrowing his eyes sharply and fighting off the urge to break a bone, the young Senju left before he could do anything he might regret. For now, he had to focus on convincing the Imada leaders to let him borrow their most valuable asset.

Surely an easy task.

* * *

Izuna turned his thoughts over silently as he made his way towards Aroka's chakra. It didn't take much searching to find it, after all its sheer volume made it painfully obvious where she was at all times. He noticed that she never hid her chakra either, but whether this was due to a lack need or a lack of ability he was unclear. Though he didn't show it, he was violently uncomfortable the first time he had stepped into her chakra-laden room, and had he possessed any less self-control, he would not have been able to hold any half decent conversation under such circumstances. It was strange, to say the least, like nothing he had ever felt. He attributed this peculiar effect to her equally peculiar use of the chakra. Fortunately for him, the discomfort seemed to have waned since then and now the strange sensation was well within tolerance, though he still stayed away from it whenever possible.

As he descended the steps to the garden, Izuna spotted Aroka approaching; arm half outstretched to allow the grasses to guide her down the path. He noticed a small thorn had become embedded in her forearm, though she did not seem to pay it any attention.

"Still alive, I see," she smiled humorously, "Did something come up?"

His eyes remained on the thorn briefly before returning the smile, "Yes, actually. As mentioned yesterday, we've had some trouble with foreign shinobi along our borders, we expect it may only be a matter of time before conflict erupts. We might be able to avoid any losses if you would be willing to stay in Konoha for a while."

Aroka's grin widened pleasantly.

"When do we leave?"

* * *

The journey from the Imada compound to the young Leaf Village took much longer than usual. Aroka lacked the speed and stamina of her shinobi companions, something that Tobirama was particularly active in pointing out and something that she was not particularly happy to put up with.

"Hurry up. You're falling behind."

"It's been nearly a day since we last took a break, can't we make camp for the night?"

"No, we're barely halfway there."

"But it's already dark!"

"I didn't think you would be this slow."

"Well maybe you should think harder!"

"Calm down, both of you," Izuna sighed, cutting in before yet another argument broke out. "We should all rest for a while and continue in the morning. A few hours won't make a difference."

"Yes! You're the best, Izuna!" Aroka cheered before dropping down eagerly, stretching her sore legs in an effort to get them to stop burning.

Rolling his eyes, Tobirama sighed and begrudgingly followed suit, refusing to even glance in her direction.

Izuna eyed the two tiredly, eventually concluding that he _should_ be able to go collect firewood without having to worry about them strangling each other. Deciding he would take his chances, he turned and began searching for suitably dry branches, being unnecessarily picky in doing so. He was in no hurry to get back.

By the time he returned, Aroka seemed to have already been asleep for a while, arm folded beneath her head and curled up at the base of a young tree. He set the bundle of wood down silently and lit it with just a blow. Seating himself against the closest tree, he glanced up through the high canopy at the darkened sky.

* * *

The guards eyed the unfamiliar woman as she approached the imposing village gates, though considering who the two men beside her were, they kept any questions they might have had to themselves.

Aroka, having retracted her chakra upon nearing the village, tightened her grip on Izuna's arm as she saw the mass of lines growing closer. It seemed so much bigger now that she was really here.

The noises of a lively city became clearer the closer she got, it was certainly an unfamiliar experience but nonetheless exciting. It was only when they reached the large market at the center of the village when it became overwhelming.

Too loud-

She frowned every time someone nearby yelled or laughed or spoke too loudly. She flinched at the ringing of bells and shouts of merchants.

Fortunately enough, this passed quickly and the noise was again bearable. She could tell they were in a building now, climbing up a long flight of stairs. The sounds were muffled by whatever walls surrounded her. Then she heard two knocks and a distant "come in."

"Aroka! What are you doing here?" Hashirama, whose voice was now much clearer, greeted in surprise.

"These two got tired of making the trip to my village so they dragged me back with them," she grinned.

Tobirama scoffed, unamused. "She's here to assist us with the border situation," he stated flatly.

"You're no fun…"

Hashirama laughed cheerfully at the two. "That's wonderful news! It's great to finally have you here, we've been hoping you would visit! How about I show you around? There's this amazing-!"

"You have work to do," Tobirama interrupted, clearly not intending to let his brother worm his way out of paperwork again.

"But-!"

"No. Save the tourism for when you finish," he demanded.

A dark gloom fell over Hashirama as he slumped into his desk.

"B-But there's so much!"

"We should leave you to it, then," Aroka smiled in amusement. "I'll see you later, Hashirama!" she waved before dragging both men out of the office.

As they made it back down the stairs, Izuna mentioned something about speaking to his brother and politely excused himself. Aroka waved cheerfully before his line shot out of sight. She then turned to Tobirama with an expectant smile.

"What?"

"I guess you're the only one left who can show me around the village."

"Why are you suddenly in a good mood?"

"Because unlike you, I'm usually a pleasant person," she smiled, looping her arm through his. "Now come on!"

Pulling him out of the building, she instantly flinched, having forgotten how loud it was. "Where to first?" she half yelled over the bustling street.

"How should I know?" he scoffed.

"If you don't pick a direction, I will!"

Taking that as a sufficient threat, Tobirama begrudgingly started towards some other part of the village. Exactly where didn't much matter, after all it would make no difference to her.

"You weren't kidding when you said Hashirama had brought in a lot of clans…" Aroka hummed, scanning over the hundreds of lines that crowded her mind. "And didn't you say there were others still moving in?"

"Some."

"How's the academy coming along? Have you found enough instructors?"

"Not yet."

"I'm sure you will. I imagine there's plenty of interest in enrollment, huh?"

"Correct."

Aroka glanced over Tobirama's line, noting how it nearly touched hers. She smiled lightly and drew her gaze to the masses around them. She saw members of the Uchiha, Senju, Sarutobi, Asuo, Tanaka, and a dozen other clans she had never heard of. It was like a strange dream, having so many clans all in one space.

She could recall a just few months ago when she had decided to check in on the village's progress, how shocked she had been to see two masses, each woven from hundreds of lines, converging in one spot. They had begun miles apart and had all come to this one spot. That was something she had never seen before, nor, she believed, had any before her.

She knew Hashirama was meant for great things, she had known since the first time she saw his line, when she had followed it in its entirety and understood his destiny. What spectacular things he would do! How immense his impact on the world! She saw this, she knew this, yet she had still been shocked speechless at the convergence of the two massive clans. How must it feel to wield such power? She would have to ask him someday.

"What are you smiling at?" Tobirama's voice pulled her back into reality.

Aroka glanced around and was surprised to see how empty it was: no other lines within a good twenty meters. She must have been so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed how far they had gone. It was quiet too, and those crowds had left an echo in her ear.

"Where are we?"

"The edge of the village."

She hummed, pausing for a moment before chancing a question. "Do you mind if I …"

"Go ahead."

A wide smile swept over Aroka's face before she nodded, spreading her chakra out in one swift motion. Instantly she saw where they were, and even just the rough, vague outlines were enough to fill her with joy.

They stood at the edge of a vast field, the grasses beneath them reaching almost to their knees. Behind them stood a great many trees, tall and strong like ones at the heart of an old forest. She was careful not to stretch her chakra too close to the branches lest she damage any flowers it might bear. In front of them the field sloped downwards dramatically, she was sure the village was somewhere beyond the edge, out of reach.

Aroka tilted her head towards the sky, embracing the warm light of the setting sun.

"What color is the sky?" she asked abruptly.

Tobirama looked down at her, raising an eyebrow, but he didn't question her like he usually would. Instead, he led her to one of the old trees and they both sat at its base.

"The sky is like fire, warm and bright," he explained after a moment.

Aroka closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder, arm still linked with his.

"Are all sunsets like this?"

"No, each is different."

She chuckled, "Sounds like I'm missing out. It must be quite a view."

He glanced at her once more, the vivid orange glow lighting up her soft features. For a moment he might have believed she was asleep, if not for the trace of a smile of her lips.

"Yes, it is."

* * *

"Brother," Izuna greeted upon stepping into the spacious office.

Madara glanced up from the scroll in his hand. If anyone else had been so bold as to enter without knocking, they surely would have been met with a sword through the neck.

"Have you gathered any new information?" he asked flatly.

Izuna sat on the other side of the desk, crossing his arms and leaning back.

"She's getting worse, and faster than expected. I suspect she's already lost a considerable amount of feeling."

"And why is that?" the older Uchiha raised an eyebrow, his interest now piqued.

"She had a thorn lodged in her arm and didn't even notice it. I can't be sure about her condition, but sufficed to say she the clock is ticking. We will need to be prepared when time runs out."

"We will be," the corner of his lips drew into a half smirk. "Continue to keep an eye on her. She is still useful for now."


	17. A Troubling Reunion

"I'm telling you, I need to speak to Senju Tobirama or Uchiha Izuna! They'll know who I am!"

"Listen, we don't have time to deal with you, just go back to wherever you came from."

"I have to speak to them! Aroka left with them, they must have come here! Please just let me in, I need to make sure she's ok!"

The guard sighed, begrudgingly signaling for his counterpart to find one of the leaders. Sometimes he wondered if this job was worth it.

Tobirama, having been informed of the two outsiders asking for him at the gate, suspiciously headed for the entrance to see what was going on.

As the two in question came into view, he saw that one of them was a plain, older man in shinobi attire, on guard and unmoving. The other, however, was a much more familiar face; a brown haired woman pacing back and forth, mumbling something to herself and seeming quite nervous. She glanced up and spotted him, ceasing her steps and waving excitedly.

"Senju-sama! Thank goodness you're here! Is Aroka with you? Is she alright?" her eyes wide with concern.

"She's fine. Why are you here?"

"You all left without a word! I'm supposed to be with Aroka whenever possible, I was scared half to death when I found out she was gone! Please let me see her!"

Tobirama glanced at the man next to her questioningly.

Noticing this, Mila was quick to explain how he, Omasu, was a shinobi from their clan and had come along to make sure she got there in one piece.

Tobirama examined him briefly before motioning for them both to follow him. The guards opened the gates, allowing the two Imada clansmen into Konoha.

He lead them through the unfamiliar streets, already busy despite the sun having risen not an hour ago, and soon arrived at the Senju compound. Passing through a number of halls, he stopped in front of a door identical to all the rest. Cautiously, Mila turned the handle and pushed the door open. Opposite of them lay Aroka, sound asleep, though she wouldn't be for long as Mila dashed across the room and shook her frantically.

"What? What's happening?" she glanced around groggily, blinking a few times. "Mila? What are you d-" She was cut off by a tight hug.

"How could you leave without telling me? I was worried sick!"

"O-Oh, I'm sorry, I asked Toru to tell you. I thought you might like a break."

"How was I supposed to enjoy a break when I thought you could be in danger?!"

"I wasn't in any danger, I'm fine, see?"

Mila frowned, standing up and storming out of the room.

"Hey! Wait!" Aroka stumbled out of bed and ran after her. She hesitated as she passed by the doorway, glancing at the man who had accompanied her friend before scrambling off.

Aroka followed her to a garden, reflexively retracting her chakra as she entered. Unfortunately, that meant she could no longer see where she was going, with only Mila's line as a general guide.

"Mila?" she called out, one arm outstretched in an attempt to avoid crashing into anything. "Please don't be upset with me! I'm sorry, I should have told you, I didn't mean to make you worry!"

She listened for a reply but there was none. Frowning in concern, she was about to call out again when she felt a tug on her arm, pulling her back a few steps.

"You were about to walk into a pond, you know." Mila huffed, a hand on her hip.

"Hey, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, please don't be upset," she pleaded, hands clasping her friend's.

Mila huffed, "Just because you can see the future doesn't mean everyone else can too. Next time you'd better tell me before running off with your Prince Charming again."

"Hey! What are you talking about?"

She chuckled, shaking her head, "I didn't say anything!"

Aroka pouted indignantly before linking her arm with the brunette's. "I'm glad you're here, Mila. The village is great, you're going to love it."

"I'd better, it took us forever to get here, I've never been so sore," she laughed, rubbing her shoulders.

Aroka's smile faltered for a moment and her eyes focused on something unseen. "Why did he come with you?"

"He volunteered. You know I never would have asked him."

"Was there no one else around?"

"I was focused on chasing after you, I didn't want to waste time tracking down another shinobi and convincing them to help me."

Aroka's lips pressed into a thin line. "Forget it, how about we go take a look at the street markets? See if we can find anything interesting!" she offered a slight smile, tugging her out of the garden.

* * *

 _Knock knock_

"Come in!" Hashirama called, leaning back in his chair.

Tobirama stepped into the spacious office, shutting the door behind him.

"Tobirama! How timely, I was just about to send for you."

"What for?" he took a seat in front of the desk, noting the troubled look on his brothers face.

"News from our scouts. They've noticed unusual activity in the surrounding forest these past few days."

"What kind of activity?"

"There were some reports of faint chakra trails, too weak to follow but apparently belonging to the same group as before. But that's not the interesting part. They've also found dozens of tiny holes in the ground with an unknown white substance coating the walls. They all form little twisting tunnels underground, seemingly in random directions."

Tobirama paused in thought, "Could they be insect burrows?"

"If they are we've never seen them before. It might be nothing but I'm having some people look into it just in case."

"I'll see if Aroka knows anything about it. As for the chakra trails, I'll join the patrol tonight and see if I can trace them."

Hashirama nodded approvingly before suddenly seeming to recall something.

"I almost forgot, you came looking for me. Did you need something?"

The younger Senju shook his head, "Just some news you might want to know. Mila and an Imada shinobi came looking for Aroka this morning."

"What?" Hashirama blinked incredulously, "You mean they're here?"

Tobirama nodded, "They only came to ensure she was safe, I don't expect them to cause any trouble."

"Are they still at the compound? I should go welcome th-"

"You have work to do."

"But Tobiramaaaa, what kind of Hokage would I be if I didn't greet our friends after they travelled so far to visit our beautiful village?" he whined, silently praying that the heavens might smile upon him. It seems the stars were aligned that day as his brother simply sighed and muttered a "fine."

"Yes!" he cheered, a little more excited than Tobirama thought was reasonable for a man of his position, before racing out of the room like his life depended on it.

* * *

Aroka shuffled down the unfamiliar hallway carefully, tracing the smooth wooden railing as she went along. She had left Mila in her room to rest, she was tired after such a long journey and had fallen asleep only moments after closing her eyes. She didn't seem to be upset anymore, thank goodness. With that off her chest, now the seer was off to find something to eat. Where did Tobirama say the kitchen was again?

"Aroka."

The woman stopped and scanned for who the voice belonged to before quickly landing on a name she loathed to even look at.

"What do you want?" she shot distastefully.

She watched the line approach hers at a cautionary pace. Her hands clenched at her sides.

"How have you been, Aroka?"

"I'm not interested in small talk. What do you want?"

The man sighed and paused briefly, "You've grown since the last time I saw you. I hope you've been well."

Aroka sneered and stepped past him, only to find an arm blocking her path.

"You're always like this, won't you speak to me just this once?" he all but pled.

She remained silent, a frown still plastered on her face.

"You know, I never thought you would leave the village. I was surprised when that servant girl told me you-"

"She has a name."

"Ah, of course, I'm sorry. I was surprised to hear you had left without a word. I was worried, it's dangerous out here."

"What? Did you expect me to come and ask for permission? From you? Not a chance," she sneered, pushing his hand aside and stepping past.

"Aroka!" He grabbed her arm and forced her to face him, not noticing her wince from the tug. "Can't you see I'm just watching out for you? Why can't you stop and listen to me? I can't change the past but at least I'm trying to make amends, please just listen and we can make things better!"

"I don't want to make things better, I want you to leave me alone."

"You-!"

"Omasu-san! It's great to have you here!"

The pair turned to see both Senju brothers standing just a few feet away. The Imada man, Omasu, quickly released the younger girl and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Hokage. It's an honor to be in your great city."

Aroka scoffed stepped away, brushing past the brothers without a word.

Hashirama watched her retreat before glancing at his brother, whose glare had not left the Imada shinobi since they arrived, and nodded for him to go after her. Tobirama, knowing the Imada wouldn't appreciate losing one of their few shinobi, opted to oblige, shooting the man one last glare before turning and heading down the hall Aroka disappeared to.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to catch up to the seer, though she had somehow found her way into a completely different sector of the compound that he was sure she didn't know she was in.

"Aroka." He put a hand on her shoulder once he reached her, turning her around. He could still see a trace of a frown on her lips. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine," she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

"What happened?"

"It was nothing, don't worry about it."

"Tell me the truth."

"It's ok, really, don't worry about it," she turned to walk away but was stopped by two hands on her shoulders.

Tobirama recalled the Imada shinobi had a grip on her arm when they had stumbled into the scene, and were it not for Hashirama stopping him he would have snapped the man's hand off right then and there.

He gently lifted her hand and pushed down the sleeve, revealing a large red handprint on her forearm. In a flash of rage, he turned on his heels and stormed back in the direction he had come, fully intent on crushing the man that dared leave such a mark on her.

"Wait!" Aroka rushed after him, managing to block his path. "Please don't."

"He hurt you," he stated, staring down at her as if she had forgotten.

"He didn't mean to, there's more to it than that. Please trust me, just leave it alone."

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion; she was hiding something. He made a mental note to find out more about it later but, at least for now, he would let it go.

"Are you ok?"

Aroka smiled in relief and wrapped her arms around him eagerly, "I'm fine. Thanks."

The Senju sighed before hesitantly returning the hug.

…

"Can you let go now?"

"No."


	18. The New and the Old

Mila awoke unusually late. The sun was already well in the sky when she rolled out of bed, eyes still heavy with sleep. She stretched tiredly, finding her muscles still held the last remaining traces of soreness from her journey to the Leaf, and went to get dressed for the day. Perhaps she would explore the village a little, she should bring Aroka too, lest the girl get bored all alone in this unfamiliar place. Yes, that was a good idea.

Soon, Mila emerged from her room and approached her friend's which was conveniently across the hall.

"Aroka? Are you awake?" She knocked lightly.

After receiving no response, she called out twice more before slowly opening the door and peeking inside.

Empty.

"I wonder where she could have gone…"

* * *

Heads turned and whispers spread abound as Aroka passed through the courtyard. She couldn't quite make out what was being said but nevertheless paid it no mind. Her cloudy eyes searched attentively through the crowded map of lines, though the one she was looking for still evaded her. Surely he couldn't be th-

"Ouch!" she hissed as she walked right into a stone bench. She cursed under her breath, rubbing right below her knee where she had hit the damn thing.

Regaining her composure after a brief pity party, she continued towards her as-of-yet unknown destination. As unfortunate as it was, running into things was a frequent reality when she couldn't see. She should consider herself fortunate today, really, that was her first collision so far, maybe she was getting better at-

"Ouch!" She had hit another bench in the exact same place. This time she had to squat down from the pain and rub furiously at her soon-to-be bruised shin, muttering broken strings of curses as she reevaluated every decision she had ever made.

"What are you doing here?"

Aroka paused her profanity to look up at the voice, she grinned and popped up so quickly her mind went dizzy for a second.

"Izuna, perfect! I'm glad I found you!"

"How did you get in here?"

"The guards at the entrance weren't looking, I think, but never mind that! I need you to bring me to Madara."

Izuna raised an eyebrow, his brother didn't mention he had a meeting this morning. Besides, what business would those two have to meet privately for?

"Why?" he asked dubiously.

"I can't say right now, but please help me out, it's important." she clasped her hands together, pleading.

"Fine," he sighed; if she said it was important he would believe her. He was sure he'd find out eventually, anyways.

"Great!" she beamed, quickly linking her arm with his, "Lead the way!"

Izuna sighed again reluctantly started towards his home deeper inside the Uchiha compound.

A number of surrounding clansmen had stopped to witness the peculiar sight and, little did the pair know, rumors were already spreading.

Upon reaching the home of the Uchiha clan head, they wove through the complex halls until finally stopping in front of a large screen door. After two soft knocks they heard a low "come in" from the other side.

Izuna slid open the door and stepped into the large, ornate office. Madara's eyes rose to meet his before shifting towards Aroka, still latched onto his arm. The younger Uchiha quickly separated himself from the woman and cleared his throat.

"She asked to speak with you."

Madara scrutinized the seer for a moment longer before dismissing his brother who wasted no time in excusing himself from the room.

Aroka stepped forward slowly, careful to avoid running into anything, and soon found what must have been a chair. Settling down, she smiled at the ever stoic man.

"Madara," she greeted.

"What do you want?" he asked pointedly, already having returned to the documents in front of him.

"I thought I'd come to visit since I'm in town."

"Is that so."

"And I have a couple things I'd like to talk with you about."

"Do tell."

"Why do you want to leave the village?"

Madara's eyes snapped up to hers, dangerously narrowed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a mask of indifference, though she could hear the edge in his voice.

"I don't know much about this village, but I do know Konoha has been your dream for a long time. What's changed?"

Madara's lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes shifted red, though that did nothing to deter her gaze.

"You don't have to say anything now but whatever it is, I want to help. You've been more distant from the others lately and they're becoming concerned."

"Why do you say that?"

"I keep an eye out, even from my limited perspective your behavior has changed; slowly but surely. Whatever it is, no problem is unfixable, you might just need to look beyond yourself for answers."

Madara's glare sharpened that even Aroka felt it, the hairs on her neck standing up.

"What exactly did you see?"

"What?"

"You wouldn't have approached me over some insignificant details you just _happened_ to notice, you've seen something important. What am I to do that's enough to scare you into intervening?" he leaned forward, voice dangerously low.

Aroka's nails dug into her palms anxiously. She couldn't tell if that was a threat, but knowing him the chances weren't good. Fearing the lines before her might at any moment change against her favor, Aroka decided now was the time to leave.

"That's all I came to say, if you need anything you know where to find me." And with that, she stood up as quickly as she could without seeming in a rush and scurried out of the room.

"Goodness…" she breathed a sigh of relief once she was far enough away, laying a hand over her erratic heartbeat. "This better have been worth it."

"What was that all about?"

"W-!" Aroka's leapt in surprise, she could have sworn her heart stopped for a second there. "Izuna! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry," he laughed, "That didn't take long, how'd it go?"

"It was fine, just get me out of here please, the longer I stay the lower my chances of survival."

"That bad, huh?"

"Just come on," she huffed, looping her arm through his and urging him forward.

Izuna complied, leading them back to the entrance of the compound then towards the main gate. As well as he hid it, he was very much curious as to what she had spoken with his brother about. It must have been something quite sensitive for her to try to come here on her own, not bringing even Mila along.

"How do you like Konoha so far?"

"It's certainly lively, much more interesting than what I'm used to."

"How long will you stay?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Well you can come visit us whenever you like, I'd be glad to show you around sometime."

"Oh? I thought you kept busy these days?"

"I'll always have time for a friend."

"How thoughtful. I'll be sure to take you up on that."

Noticing a shift in the composition of lines as well as the growing noise in front of her, she determined they had just exited the Uchiha compound.

"Thank you for walking me out, Izuna. I can make it back from here," she smiled gratefully, though he made no effort to unlock his arm from hers.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to walk you the rest of the way as well."

"Are you sure? You don't have to; I know you must have more important things to do."

"Honestly, I don't know how you made it here by yourself considering how many things you ran into back there."

"Hey! Your compound just has too many obstacles! I made it here just fine, I'll have you know!"

"If you say so…"

"Shush, let's just go, Mila might get worried if I take too long."

The pair continued towards the Senju compound with chatter and friendly banter between them. The sun was warm today, an occasional cool breeze tickled past them, the background noise of Konoha was familiar and comforting: a constant, fluid static.

It didn't take long before the complex entrance came into view. Izuna paused a few feet away, "I'm sure you can make it the rest of the way."

"I'd hope so," she grinned, unlinking her arm and turning to face him. "Thanks, Izuna."

"Anytime."

"I'll see you around then, bye bye!" she waved as she turned towards the compound.

Despite knowing full well the pointlessness of doing so, Izuna found himself waving back. He watched her retreat until finally she disappeared behind the stone walls of the complex.

For some reason, the walk back seemed ages longer.

* * *

Aroka dragged her fingertips along the side of the handrails, she had made a point to memorize the way to her room so she was reasonably sure she wouldn't get lost. Of course it certainly helped that Tobirama had given her one fairly close to the entrance. Aroka walked slowly, she was in no hurry, seeing as this was the day she would finally meet the person whose line she had been watching for a while. In fact, according to her best guess, they should cross paths in...

 _Three_

 _Two_

 _One-_

"Excuse me, do you need any help?"

Right on time.

"I do, actually, do you know where Mila is?" she asked.

"Imada-san? I met her just earlier, I can take you there," the steady feminine voice offered. "You must be Imada Aroka, yes?"

"I am, it's very nice to meet you, Mito."

The said woman was momentarily taken aback at this stranger knowing her name, but soon she remembered what she had heard about Aroka and it clicked.

"Hashirama has told me a lot about you."

"I hope it's not all bad."

"Not at all, in fact I hear you were a great help in founding this village."

"Oh, you give me too much credit, I didn't do much," she waved dismissively. "Though I'm glad I could come visit, it's wonderful here."

"That's great to hear, we're happy you have you."

"You just came back from a trip, right?"

"Yes, I was visiting my clan for a few days, I got back late last night."

"You should drop by the Hokage Tower to visit Hashirama, he'll be happy to see you."

"I will, I know he's been rather busy lately so I'll wait a bit before I go."

"There'll always be work, that can wait. Besides, you have important news, I don't think he'll mind."

Mito glanced at Aroka quizzically, "Important news?"

The younger woman only smiled, happily inspecting the recently formed line that nearly overlapped with Mito's, "Congratulations."

The redhead's eyes widened, hand immediately drawing to her stomach. Her voice lowered to a whisper, "How… how did you…?"

"Don't worry," she winked, "My lips are sealed."

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A voice called from ahead, the sound of footsteps growing closer.

"Hi Mila," Aroka greeted cheerfully.

"Mito-san, thank you for finding her, I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble," Mila bowed respectfully to the said woman, the relief evident in her voice.

"When do I ever cause trouble?" Aroka huffed defensively, "Anyways, let's go, we have things to talk about. It was great meeting you, Mito, see you around."

And with a wave, the two Imada women bid their goodbyes and quickly disappeared down the hall, leaving Mito with only her disjointed thoughts for company.

* * *

"You've been hiding indoors for a while now, you should go explore the village, you know, get some fresh air."

"I would but I've been busy chasing you around ever since I got here."

"You worry too much, I can take care of myself, Mila."

The pair now sat in Aroka's room, resting on opposite sides of the bed.

"You still haven't told me where you ran off to this morning."

"I went outside for a bit. You know, the village starts getting busy really early, if only ours was ever so lively."

"It is different here, that's for sure."

"You should relax, go sightseeing or something, there must be plenty to do in a place this big."

"I don't see you exploring."

"Sightseeing doesn't really do it for me, for some reason. Plus, there're less moving obstacles inside."

"If I do go, will you be ok alone here?"

"Of course, now hurry and go see the world for me, ok?"

Mila agreed with slight hesitation, casting her friend one last glance before stepping out of the room. She had been wanting to explore Konoha since her arrival but hadn't yet been able to convince herself to do so. She couldn't help but worry. No matter how much she knew Aroka could take care of herself, the 'what if' always tugged at the back of her mind. Today, at least, she would do her best to be reasonable and give her friend some space, hopefully it would ease her mind.

* * *

Aroka leaned against the headboard of her bed, allowing the fine web to fill her sight. Nothing seemed amiss yet a growing unease filled her as she eyed one of the lines nearby her own. He was too close for comfort, she hated being in the same building as him, hated that he was here at all, hated that she knew their lines would meet soon. But mostly, she hated that she couldn't bring herself to do anything about it. He was the last person she wanted to talk to yet some part of her, deep down, still demanded answers.

 _Knock knock_

The tapping at the door made her stomach drop. It was too late to back out now.

"Come in."

She heard the door open and close, footsteps coming closer before stopping not far into the room.

"You're not using your chakra," the all-too-familiar voice observed.

"Why would I want to look at you?"

The man was quiet for a moment.

"You could have chosen not to speak to me, the fact that you didn't makes me think you don't despise me as much as you let on."

"Don't get me wrong," Aroka scoffed, "I despise you _exactly_ as much as I let on, but if I didn't speak to you now you would just keep trying. Say what you have to say and get it over with." Even as she spoke, however, she knew it was only a half-truth.

The man sighed tiredly, "We don't want you to live the rest of your life angry with us, as much time as we've lost, there's still a chance for reconnection. All we want is one chance."

"You had your chance twenty years ago."

"Giving you up wasn't our choice, Aroka, you know that," his voice seemed to wear by the minute.

"Everything happens because of choices, if you had chosen better we wouldn't be here today."

"You don't know that."

"I do, actually. I know because I've seen it, what could have been."

He let out another aged sigh, "We made mistakes back then, I know we did, but we want to make it up to you as much as we can. If you can see what could have been then surely you can see what could be. The past won't change, Aroka, no matter how hard we try, it won't change, but for your own sake please help us give you a better future."

A tense silence fell over the room, what could only have been seconds seemed to drag on for ages.

"Get out."

The man's expression fell, "Aroka-"

"Get out."

Whatever glimmer of hope he had left vanished with her words. With no other choice he cast her one last glance before reluctantly withdrawing from the room.

Maybe this was a mistake after all.


	19. Something is Afoot

A knock at the door pulled Aroka's attention away from the journal in her hands, she closed the pages and slid it in a drawer before slowly moving to answer the door.

"Hello?" she blinked at the unfamiliar Senju.

"Imada-san, a message has come for you," he handed over a neatly rolled length of paper held in place by a thin cord.

"Oh, thank you," Aroka took the scroll, glancing it over curiously. The man excused himself before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Immediately, she could tell it was from someone back home. The chakra-laced ink became more legible as she unfurled it carefully, smoothing it down onto the desk.

 _Aroka,_

 _I hope all is well. According to your last letter, you should have arrived back earlier this week. You have already remained in Konoha nearly two weeks longer than expected, I hope you will not delay your return any longer. If this letter reaches you, please let us know you are safe as well as when to expect you. If you have already left Konoha and this is received by someone else, please disregard this letter._

 _Your friend,_

 _Imada Toru_

Aroka had nearly forgotten that her return was long overdue. This was now the third letter she had received regarding what was supposed to be just a week-long visit. She'd had to tell a little white lie in order to get him to agree to letting her go in the first place, after all if she had told him the truth about how long she planned to stay, there was simply no chance of getting his approval.

Aroka set aside the letter and stood up to stretch. Toru could wait a bit longer; he always did worry too much.

Noticing a familiar line approaching, she carefully shuffled over to the door and opened it with a bright smile.

"Hi Tobirama," she greeted with an excited hug before ushering him inside. The Senju always visited her whenever he was able to get away from work, though admittedly that wasn't very often.

"I heard you had news about the ambush," he started, taking a seat at the small glass table near the foot of the bed.

"Yes, I figured out the bandits' motive. They were working for someone in the Hoki clan and communicated through a third-party messenger, which was why I didn't see it at first. After the attack the bandits left a message for the envoy near the border of the Land of Wind, then envoy the relayed it back to some members of the Hoki clan."

"What was the message?"

"They carved something into large stone by a river but I couldn't tell what it was." She recalled the open field she had watched them cross, heading straight to a prominent, jagged rock that was half submerged in the river. One of the bandits carved something into the side facing the water before the group retreated back the way they came. Because she was only able to make out vague shapes and outlines through Detailing, she couldn't distinguish what exactly the marking was. Judging by the brevity of the action, though, she knew it had to be something relatively simple.

Tobirama nodded thoughtfully, a plan already forming in his mind, "Do you know who in the clan hired them?"

"I don't think it was one person, considering the envoy usually met with multiple Hoki clansmen. I can give you the names of the ones he encountered." Grabbing a pen from her desk, Aroka listed out each person that seemed to have interacted with the messenger: six members in total.

Tobirama glanced over the list and nodded, "I'll look into this. Thank you, Aroka."

"Happy to help," she grinned.

And with that, he was up and gone.

She let her smile drop and sighed quietly.

He always visited her whenever he was able to get away from work, though it was never _her_ he came for.

* * *

Mila knocked softly before the voice on the other side beckoned her in.

"I was hoping you weren't still asleep," she smiled, turning on the lights as she approached the desk across the room.

"I got up early today just so I wouldn't disappoint you," Aroka grinned, looking up from the book in her hands.

"How thoughtful. Anyways, do you want to go out? I hear there's a new string of restaurants opening near the library, the grand opening is going to be big!"

"I would, but I don't think I'm feeling up for it today, sorry."

"Oh? Do you not feel well?"

"Don't worry, I'm not sick or anything. You should go see the new stores, let me know if there's anything good and we can go some other time, ok?" she grinned encouragingly.

"Are you sure you don't want to come? You haven't left the compound in a few days, are you sure you're ok?"

"You know I've never been a big fan of the outdoors, now don't worry about me, go have fun! Tell me all about it when you get back."

"Well... ok, but if I find a good place you have to go with me next time, alright?"

"It's a promise!"

The door clicked shut and silence once again enveloped the room. Aroka smiled to herself, turns out Mila was a big fan of exploring the city, who would have thought? You'd be hard pressed to find her in the compound during the day, even after sunset she frequented the night markets and bright lights of Konoha. Mila was born and raised in their hometown, she had never even set foot in another village before recently, to her it must be like an entirely different world. Aroka envied her friend sometimes. The city never inspired the same kind of wonder in her, but maybe that was less to do with the city itself and more to do with her own limitations. She imagined it would feel like an adventure, discovering new places and seeing new things, like living in an ever-expanding world, how wonderful! The stories Mila would return with filled her with imagination for a world she could only dream of: the aromas of a passing restaurant, the brilliant shine of street lights at night, fireworks that lit up the sky. It would be nice to live in that world, wouldn't it? Aroka smiled to herself, moving to pick up the notebook she had left on her bed. But before she even made it halfway, she suddenly found herself on the ground.

For a moment, she simply stared at the floorboards beneath, fingers curling tightly into fists, before releasing a heavy breath and slowly rising to her feet once again.

* * *

"Good, you're here, now we can begin the meeting," Hashirama stated as his old friend and longtime rival, Madara Uchiha, entered the small conference room.

"Have you found anything new?" the man asked, taking a seat next to his younger brother who had arrived not long before him.

"Aroka was able to figure out some information about the purpose of the attack, it seems one of our initial suspects, the Hoki clan, was likely behind it. We've already sent some men to a spot near the border of the Land of Wind that could give us some more information."

"What are you expecting to find?"

"A message the bandits left for their benefactors. Aroka gave us a description of the area, we've narrowed it down to a five-mile stretch of this river," he looked to the map spread on the table, tracing his finger along a portion of the large river that lay between the Wind and Rain Countries.

Madara furrowed his brow, "What else?"

"That's all we have so far, once the scouts return-"

"That's all? It's been almost a week since our men were attacked and all your _seer_ was able to find was some message those bastards left?" he demanded, a scowl now twisting his features.

"Madara, I know you're anxious to find them but you shouldn't blame her. They've been nearly impossible to trace, even for us, Aroka is doing all she can," Hashirama reasoned gently, though it did little to calm his friend.

"You are a fool if you believe that. Someone with her complete knowledge of the past could discover anything at all if they wanted to. You have become too reliant on her half-hearted words to think for yourself," his voice dripped with impatient rage.

"Watch your tongue, Uchiha," Tobirama warned. "You seem to think your clansmen were the only ones targeted. They killed two of our own, do not doubt our investment in their capture."

"Which is why it surprises me that you listen to her excuses so easily."

"What has you so convinced of her unwillingness to help?"

"The same thing that should convince you: logic. Unfortunately, you're too blinded by your own _interests_ to see the plain truth, but I have no such impairment," he stood abruptly, leering at the younger Senju for a moment before exiting swiftly.

Izuna glanced worriedly after his brother, mumbling an "Excuse me," before following after him.

After both Uchihas were out of sight, Hashirama pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath.

"Do you two have to argue every time?" he sighed, weariness seeping into his voice. By the time he looked up again, however, Tobirama had already turned down the hall. "Hey w-!" the thud of the door closing cut him off.

Hashirama stared at it for a moment, crestfallen, before dragging a hand down the side of his face in exasperation.

* * *

"Toru, sit," a middle aged man with thinning brown hair gestured to the only empty seat in the room. He, along with two much older men, sat around a small wooden table, each donning the intricate flowing robes unique to the Imada clan.

"Has Aroka responded?" the apparent eldest of them questioned, voice brittle as a dry leaf in winter.

Toru eyes never met any of theirs, instead he stared, unfocused, at the beautifully woven hems of their silks.

"No," he stated listlessly.

"This is the third time we have asked her to return, is it not?"

"...yes."

"Then you know what to do next."

Now his expression wavered with concern, "Can't we… can't we give her just a little longer? She'll come back, I'm sure." Despite his best efforts, his words were unconvincing, even to himself.

"We have given her enough time; you should never have let her leave in the first place. We cannot put the village at risk any longer, we will only do what is necessary," the first man spoke again, just a tinge of sympathy dulling his tone, "Go now, Toru."

Though he hesitated, the young leader stood up with a nod, eyes still lowered, and turned from the room.


	20. I Spy

Aroka frowned as she stared at one of the white lines before her. It was strange, she had never expected to see anything like it, especially not here of all places. In fact, it surprised her quite a bit when she first noticed it this afternoon.

She wondered if she should tell someone about it. Mila? Tobirama? Hashirama? But then again, what could they do? No, this likely wasn't a problem they could solve, not without more information, anyways.

She turned her attention back to disturbance. The line that held her attention was her own, and it told her she was going to die in four days. More specifically, she was going to be killed, and by a person she had never heard of. What in the world could she have done to anger a stranger so terribly? Luckily for her, she didn't have to wait to find out.

 _Aroka felt the familiar, jarring shift in her consciousness. She waited for it to subside before spreading her chakra out into her surroundings which instantly materialized around her._

 _The scene she saw was not an unexpected one, it was the same room she was just in: her bedroom inside the Senju compound. Just a few feet in front of her lay an outline of a person. The figure, whom she recognized as herself, was the only one in the room, sleeping soundly._

 _A few moments passed before the door slid open, a figure entering the room. The man was rather tall and of medium build, he wore the clothes of a commoner with a stretch of cloth concealing the lower half of his face. He gripped a curved blade in his left hand._

 _The man rapidly stalked towards the sleeping form, who showed no signs of stirring, and stood over her, pausing for a moment before raising his blade and slitting her throat in one swift motion._

Aroka shook her head to rid herself of what she had just seen. Her skin was alive with goosebumps and a hand rose to cover her neck unconsciously.

It was all too quick. It only took a moment; she wasn't even able to put up a fight! She wasn't going to let it happen, of course not. She was going to put a stop to it. But why would that man want to kill her in the first place? They had never crossed paths before, of that she was certain. He must have been under orders.

She looked back at the man's line in the days leading up to the… encounter. He didn't interact with many people at all, but the ones he did seemed to all be ordinary people, probably local merchants or businessmen judging by their patterned behaviors. None of them seemed likely to hire an assassin, especially not to target her seeing as she didn't recognize any of their names.

He couldn't have met with the hirer directly, perhaps it is a similar case to the ambush and there was a middle man involved? She didn't have time to search through all the familiars of everyone he had interacted with and she knew Detailing was unlikely to yield anything useful, perhaps it would be best to get the answers from the man himself.

* * *

Tobirama glared down at the sweating man being held down by two shinobi on either side. It took all he had to suppress the rage that threatened to overflow whenever he looked at him. He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms tightly.

"Matsuo Suzuki," his voice dripped with malice as the said man began shaking visibly, "Former hitman, skilled sensor, disgraced by his own clan, imprisoned for the murder of a nobleman before escaping. You have a lot of courage to show your face in this place."

"P-Please, I'm only p-passing t-through, I haven't done anything wrong!" he sputtered weakly, eyes wide with fear.

"I'm not interested in your excuses. I know why you're here and if you don't want me to lose my temper, I suggest you start answering my questions. Who sent you?"

Matsuo's eyes widened even further, it only took him a second to weigh his options, "I-I don't know their name, we've only ever c-communicated through letters, I didn't want to do it but the money they offered was enough to pay off my debts and if I refused my family wouldn't have been able to-"

" _Shut up_ ," Tobirama barked, instantly silencing the trembling man, "What exactly did they tell you to do?"

"Well… I-I was supposed to track down a woman, all t-they told me was that I should look for a "strange" chakra signature and that I w-would know when I found it."

"Were you given a name?"

"No..."

"When did this person first contact you?"

"Less t-than a week ago."

"How was the payment to be transferred?"

"They said they would know i-if I was successful and the money would be delivered to a meetup point the next d-day."

Tobirama leaned back in his chair, brows knit in concentration, and mulled over all he had learned so far. He sighed forcefully before signaling the guards, the man would be held in the underground cells until they decide what to do with him. Though Matsuo struggled and pled for freedom, he was quickly dragged out of the office. As soon as they were gone, Hashirama entered from an attached room, a similarly contemplative expression etched on his features.

"He said "they would know" if he was successful, could that mean they're from Konoha?" Hashirama questioned worriedly, taking a seat across from his brother.

"It's not impossible but no one here knows about Aroka beside us and the Uchiha two. It's more likely the culprit has contacts here. We should start by looking at everyone who has entered the village since Aroka came."

"That's going to be a long list. In the meantime, we'll continue to interrogate the Suzuki man. It's strange though, isn't it? If I recall, he was relatively infamous for a while but a few years ago he just stopped altogether, not a single trace of illicit activity at all."

"Until now."

"Right, and he said he only accepted the job because of the amount of money offered, so it's likely the person behind it knew about both his past activities and his financial issues and used it to draw him into all this."

"In that case the payment couldn't have been an insignificant amount; why not hire a better hitman? He's been out of practice for years and even back then he was nothing noteworthy, why him?"

"Perhaps they've hired him before: they trust him?"

"Even so, you saw him, he was shaking the whole time not to mention how easily he confessed. He clearly had doubts about taking the job, it must have taken quite some convincing to get him to agree. Does that sound like a reliable hitman to you?"

"Hm, you're right. Something's up with this whole situation, we just have to find out what it is."

"Easier said than done," Tobirama's frown deepened as he sighed once again, lifting himself up off the chair, "We'll begin searching first thing tomorrow."

Hashirama nodded, "I'll have the records ready by then. For now, you should check on Aroka, make sure she's alright," he suggested, mirroring his brother's motion.

Tobirama scoffed indignantly, one foot already out the door, "Where else would I be going?"

* * *

The sun had long given way to a cool, deep night. The moon's pallid face shifted in and out of view with the passing clouds, offering little light to the sleeping village below.

Tobirama was headed back to the Senju sector of the city, not far from the Hokage tower where he spent so much of his time. He thought about Aroka, he hadn't seen much of her lately as there haven't been many matters that called for her assistance. The last time they spoke had been two days ago, right after he learned about tonight's assassination attempt from Hashirama.

 _Tobirama stormed through the halls of the Senju compound looking ready to kill anyone in his way. Upon reaching his destination, he threw open the unfortunate door to reveal an expectant seer smiling at him from her desk._

 _"Tobirama, you're-"_

 _"Is it true?" he demanded, crossing the room in a split second to leer down at her._

 _"Huh? Oh, you mean the thing about me dying? Of course it's true, why would I lie about that?"_

 _"Why didn't you tell me?! I had to hear it from Hashirama just now!"_

 _"I know you've been busy with work, I didn't want to bother you. Hashirama came to visit me earlier so I thought I'd just tell him first."_

 _"It doesn't matter how busy I am, you should've come directly to me! You don't think I would have dropped everything to help you?!"_

 _"I knew that's exactly what you would do and I didn't want that," she stood and put a hand on his arm in an effort to calm him down, "It was going to work out regardless, I didn't want to worry you."_

 _"Worry me?" his brows furrowed sharply, "How am I not supposed to worry when you're supposed to die?!"_

 _"Ok, ok, I'm sorry, I should have come to you first," she conceded gently, "Just don't be upset, ok?" she pleaded, squeezing his hand._

 _Luckily, her placation seemed to have worked as he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose._

 _"...I was just worried."_

 _Aroka smiled and put her hands to his cheeks, leaning upwards to plant a quick kiss. Before she could pull away, however, an arm wrapped around her waist and drew her back in. Their lips moved passionately, as if starved of each other's touch, until finally they had to pull away for air, panting and flushed despite the cold night._

 _"Thanks for worrying."_

Maybe he should try to visit her more often.

"Tobirama!" a voice called out urgently from behind him.

"Mila."

"I heard you caught him, the man who… Did you get anything from him?"

"Nothing for certain, we're still looking."

"Oh, okay... Oh by the way, Aroka is in the garden right now, she's probably expecting you."

Tobirama nodded and thanked her before starting towards his destination.

When he spotted her, she was sitting at the edge of the lotus pond, leaned forwards and apparently staring at something in the water. He approached with silent footsteps and stood beside her for a moment before sitting down as well. He glanced at her hand that brushed the surface of the water.

"I hear you haven't been outside in some time."

Aroka smiled, "I've been tired lately, I suppose."

"Why are you out so late?"

"The water's cold."

"That's not exactly an excuse."

"Not to you."

"You seem awfully calm for someone who's supposed to be dead."

"It's nothing I can't handle. Besides, it's not much different from so many other things I've seen: just another future that will never be."

Tobirama's lips ticked in amusement at her reasoning, though he wasn't entirely convinced it was so simple.

"So what's he like?"

"Who?"

"Matsuo Suzuki."

"I'd rather not talk talk about him," his anger flared at the mere mention of his name.

"Come on, I think I deserve to know. I'm the one he tried to kill, you know."

With a sigh, Tobirama retold what the captured man had confessed to during the interrogation. Aroka listened quietly, occasionally swishing her hand back and forth across the water.

"I thought something was off about him when I was looking at his line, he really didn't seem like a criminal."

"That's what we thought too, we're looking into who his benefactor could be and why he was chosen in the first place."

"I'll look into his activity for the past week, maybe there's something there that could help us."

He nodded and a thick silence fell between them. Two koi fish swam towards the edge, circling Aroka's hand curiously before drifting off in opposite directions: one back towards a small grouping of golden fish and the other into the shade of a water lily.

"I'm sorry."

Aroka turned towards him in surprise, "What for?"

"I know I haven't been around much ever since you came to Konoha."

Now it was his turn to be surprised when a pleasant laugh escaped the blind seer.

"It's nice to you know you've been thinking about me, but there's no reason to apologize. Besides, if I was clinging to you all day, who would do Hashirama's work for him?"

Tobirama's lips pulled into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "You should go inside and rest, the wind isn't good for you."

"Ok, but only because you're asking me to."

"You should take care of yourself without me asking."

"What's the fun in that?"

"You sure are something else, you know that?"

"Of course! And by the way, if I have to go to sleep then so do you, don't even think about work until morning, ok?"

"I don't recall taking orders from you."

"Well you'd better get used to it," she grinned, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace, "I'm not going anywhere."


	21. The Imadas

"Mom, when is dad coming home?" a girl, no more than 10 years old, with pretty round eyes and cropped black hair asked. Her legs swung rhythmically under the table as she pushed the food around her plate.

The woman next to her ruffled her hair with a slight grin, "He'll be back any day now, but you have to eat all your food if you want to have the energy to play together."

The girl nodded enthusiastically and did as she was told, finishing her plate in just a few minutes. As she stood up and was about to put the dish in the sink, the front door squeaked open from the next room.

"I'm home," a deep, weary voice called out.

"Daddy!" the girl gasped, an impossibly wide smile overtaking her face as she ran towards the door and jumped into his open arms, "Daddy I missed you!"

"I missed you too, honey," he smiled, returning the hug and ruffling her hair.

"Welcome home," his wife stepped out of the kitchen, the three shared a tight hug before the young girl dragged her father off to show him all the things she had made while he was away.

* * *

The middle aged woman sat in a large plush seat, hands around a steaming mug of tea. She shifted uncomfortably as she listened to the sounds of the quiet house. She pushed her white-streaked raven hair behind her ear.

"She's finally asleep," her husband announced as he descended the stairs, dropping into the chair next to her, "Thanks, Kinuyo," he took the cup from her, carefully lifting it to his lips. Up close, she noticed some wrinkles and dark circles he didn't have last time she saw him.

"So what happened? You were only supposed to be gone a few weeks," she asked, concern evident in her chocolate brown eyes, "Is everything ok, Omasu?"

"Everything's fine," he reassured with a smile, taking her hand into his own, "It's a long story but everything's ok."

She nodded, though the crease in her brow did not lessen, "How is she?"

"She's doing great, she seemed happy and healthy and she's made some great friends. She really seemed to like Konohagakure," he paused, his thumb ran over the back of her hand, "It's the first time I was able to speak to her in years. She looks just like you, you know."

Kinuyo nodded, the happy smile resting on her lips contrasted the glassiness of her eyes.

"What are her friends like?"

Omasu gazed as his wife sadly, he continued tracing patterns on her hand as he spoke.

"Well there's Mila of course, still as wonderful as ever. Then there's a young man from the Uchiha clan, he would come around every once in a while and she would always greet him like she hadn't seen him in years. There's also the leader of Konoha, a Senju. He's a very nice young man, he has big dreams and a kind heart, Kazue gets along very well with his wife and children too." He recalled warmly the time he had seen her rocking the Senju's son to sleep, pacing rhythmically around the room while singing a quiet tune he couldn't hear. He remembered thinking she would be a good mother someday. "Then there's the leader's younger brother, not quite as friendly a person on the outside, though he and Kazue seem to be closest."

The woman looked up, "Do you mean…?"

Omasu nodded with a smile, "He treats her well, from what I've seen, and she seems to be fond of him too."

His wife smiled, and though the pain was evident, she managed a laugh, "Our baby's all grown up."

He remained silent for a moment, his heart ached right along with his wife's.

"Even as things are, we should be proud of her, dear."

Kinuyo shook her head slightly, "She's managed to make a good life for herself despite all she's been through; of course I'm proud," her eyes looked up, fighting the tears that threatened to spill, "...I just wish things were different."

That night, Omasu listened to his wife's tossing and turning, he saw her shoulders tremble as silent tears soaked into the pillows, and he wished there was something he could do.

* * *

Weeks later, the family was out and about in the village, the sun shining brightly overhead.

"Mommy, Daddy, where are we going?" the young girl piped up curiously. Walking between her parents, she swung their connected hands as the trio continued down the mid-morning street.

"Good question, Misora. Honey, where _are_ we going?" Kinuyo questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Be patient," he chided, his tone was light yet the look on his face was unusually serious.

Kinuyo hummed suspiciously but nonetheless she dropped the subject. She glanced ahead and took a moment to enjoy the scenery: the worn stones path beneath them passed by a small grove of saplings, the simple stone benches not far from the path were scarcely occupied this time of day. Next, they passed a grouping of houses whose windows were open, children playing and chasing each other noisily on the grass. She heard a distant birdsong as a few sparrows flew overhead. They passed by an older woman carrying a large, flat basket of leaves and… silkworms. She frowned, there was only one place in the village that kept that many silkworms…

Kinuyo stopped dead in her tracks, instantly hyper-aware of her surroundings, "Why are we going to the main compound?"

"Just trust me, dear, I promise there's nothing to worry about."

He knew all too well his wife's deep hatred of the Imada leaders, he only hoped she wouldn't turn back now.

"Omasu, why are we here?" she demanded sharply, the warmth in her eyes now gone.

"Honey, everything's fine, please just-"

"I will _not_ go into that house! What did you-"

"Excuse me."

The voice made them both turn. Kinuyo drew her brows together in disbelief.

"...Mila?"

The brown haired woman bowed slightly. Glancing around cautiously, she motioned towards the compound, "Follow me, quickly."

"Wait! Is this about Kazue? Is she ok?" the older woman asked urgently.

"She's fine, just come with me."

Casting her husband a worried glance, Kinuyo obliged and the trio followed Mila into the main compound. They wove through the complex halls quickly, thoroughly confusing the small family, until they stopped in front of a small screen door and Mila motioned for them to enter.

The room was modest and well-kept, light streamed in through the large windows and filled the room with its warm rays. A small table and three seats were placed on one side of the door and she gestured for them to sit.

"Please, tell us what this is about," Kinuyo half pled, concern evident in her expression.

Mila looked towards Omasu who turned towards his wife carefully.

"Kazue asked us to come and speak to her," he took Kinyuo's hand as she stared at him with wide eyes, "As a family.

The woman could have sworn her heart stopped. She looked at her husband in disbelief, turned to look at Mila, then back again to her husband.

"I… get to see her?" she asked, whispering, as if speaking any louder would shatter this sweet dream.

Mila nodded with a sympathetic smile, "But she's asked to speak with Misora first."

The little girl tilted her head in surprise, turning to her mother, "Mom, how does she know my name?"

Kinuyo snapped out of her daze and quickly knelt down in front of the girl.

"Misora, remember how I told you about your sister, Kazue? You're finally going to meet her!" she grinned with watery eyes. She smoothed down the girl's hair and straightened her yukata before taking both hands into her own, "Be nice, ok dear?"

The girl nodded compliantly before being told to go with Mila. The two stepped out of the room and back into the winding halls. Neither side spoke along the way, Mila couldn't imagine what it must be like for the three of them. Well, four, actually.

Soon, they made it to a set of sliding doors. Misora looked up at her questioningly and Mila motioned for her to go ahead. The young girl turned back towards the door and knocked a few times. Once she heard a light _'Come in'_ from the other side she again looked up at Mila who nodded encouragingly, then slid the door open and stepped inside.

The first thing that caught her attention was the woman sitting behind a low-set table, hands folded in her lap and eyes trained on the door.

"Please, sit," the woman spoke in a voice that almost reminded her of her mother's.

The room had no windows but enough light came through the screens that she could see without an issue. The girl made her way towards the table and sat across from the stranger.

"Are you Kazue-nee?" she asked, half curious half nervous.

"Technically, yes. Though people call me Aroka," she smiled warmly, "It's nice to meet you, Misora."

"What happened to your eyes?"

"Ah, I was born blind, over time they became like this."

"Oh."

"Say, how old are you?"

"10. My birthday just passed."

"Wow, that's great! How did you celebrate?"

"Mom said I could invite my friends over so we had a party and played games and everything! And mom made a cake too!"

"Did you get a lot of presents?"

"Yea! I got a dollhouse and new pencils and ribbons, and mom got me these shoes!" she scooted to the side to show off her soft blue shoes, apparently having forgotten the part about being blind. "But dad wasn't able to come."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"He was on an important mission far away."

"Well, I'm sure he wished he could have been there."

"Dad said he had to go to make sure Kazue-nee was safe, so it's ok."

"Oh? Why would that make it ok?"

"Huh?"

"You don't know me, why would it matter if that was why your father was away?"

"Because dad always keeps us safe. Mom says even though Kazue-nee can't live with us, you're still family."

"Do you believe her?"

"Yea! Because it's not your fault the bad people took you away."

"The bad people, huh?... Do you know why they took me?"

"It's because you were special, right? And they wanted to use you?"

"It's more like... they needed my help to keep the village safe."

"Oh, ok. Hey, Kazue-nee."

"Yes?"

"Why did you want to talk to us?"

"Ah, well it's a long story but…" she leaned forward dramatically and her voice dropped to a whisper, "I'll tell you if you promise to keep it a secret."

"I will! Promise!"

"Ok then. I wanted to speak to you and your parents today because I'm going to leave soon."

"What?! You're going to leave the village? But no one _ever_ leaves the village!"

"I suppose I'll have to be the first, then, won't I?"

"But why do you have to go?"

"You'll understand when you're older, Misora. For now, at least we can get to know each other, right?"

"I guess…"

"So do you have any questions for me?"

"Hmm…" she thought for a moment, "Who makes your kimonos?"

Aroka laughed at this; she really was just a little girl. "The weavers make all the clothing here."

"I think you look better in the purple one."

"The purple one?"

"Yea, the one you wore to the silk festival."

"Oh? You saw me at the silk festival?"

"Yea, mom and dad were looking for you but you weren't sitting with all the other main family members, later on I saw you walking with a strange man and I thought your kimono was really pretty."

"I'm sorry I didn't notice you back then."

"It's ok. The teachers said only the main family get to wear purple clothes because they're hard to make. How come I can't wear any?

"Well it's like you said Misora, you're not in the main family, right?"

"But you get to wear them!"

"That's different, I was raised here."

"But that's not fair!"

"Sometimes things just aren't fair, dear, but getting stuck on them won't make you happy either, will it?"

"Aw, but I… Ok, I get it. But I have another question!"

"Ask away."

"Why haven't you come to visit us before?"

"Ah, right. Well there isn't just one reason. The people in charge here forbid it, for one, but it was also because I didn't want to see your parents."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I was angry with them."

 _"Yuto-sama, why don't my mom and dad live here?" a young Aroka asked the old clan leader out of the blue, almost catching him by surprise._

 _"Your parents aren't members of the main family," he stated matter-of-factly._

 _"Then why can't I live with them?"_

 _The old man sighed, a mask of sympathy etched in his features, "Are you sure you want to know? It's going to be hard to hear."_

 _The girl nodded eagerly._

 _He sighed again, "Well, your parents have always been very poor, they weren't... expecting to have you and so they weren't ready to provide for a baby. After you were born, one of our advisors happened to be visiting your parents and saw how terrible your condition was; you were only wrapped in old rags despite the nearing winter, you were cold and hungry and wouldn't stop crying. Out of the goodness of his heart, he couldn't bear to see you like that, so he made an offer to your parents to raise you in their place. They refused him but he couldn't allow you to continue to be mistreated, he had to agree to give them a hefty sum before they finally agreed," he shook his head disapprovingly, "Greed is a nasty thing. Remember, Aroka, your parents may have been willing to throw you away, but not us, we are your family and we will always be here for you, understand?"_

 _Aroka stood speechless, mouth agape, sadness shining through her large brown eyes. She nodded slowly._

 _From that day forward, Aroka never stopped thinking about his words. At first, she didn't dare believe it, however she soon learned the ability of Detailing and soon after that discovered it was all true. She watched with her own eyes as her mother traded her for a box of silver._

 _She asked herself why she wasn't good enough, why her parents didn't want her. One side of her said not to blame them; they must not have had any other choice, right? They were just trying to survive, right? But the other side of her only saw these as pretty excuses to wrap herself with, the other side of her simmered in an ever-growing rage that she never forgot._

"Are… are you still angry with them?" Misora asked worriedly.

"I am," she responded without hesitation, but a warm smile soon appeared on her lips, "But like I said before, getting stuck on things like that won't make me happy. I've spent enough time being angry with the past and it didn't change anything. The past gets too much attention, I think, so I'll try to spend more of my effort in the present."

The younger girl stared at her hands intently. Aroka wasn't sure how much she understood but some part clearly resonated with her.

"...Are you going to talk to mom and dad?"

"That's why I brought you all here, isn't it?"

"But you're not going to come back with us." It was more a statement than a question and the disappointment was clear.

"No, I'm afraid not. But everything will be ok, right Misora?"

The girl nodded hesitantly.

"Well I'm glad I got to meet you today, dear."

"Me too."

"Would you mind getting your parents for me? I'd like to talk with them."

Misora nodded and shuffled to her feet. She bowed quickly before padding towards the door, sending back a small wave before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

Kinuyo's eyes were focused on the floor as they had been since they got here. Her husband sent her worried glances every so often, none of which she noticed. She wrung her hands for the hundredth time, unable to still herself as her mind raced a mile a minute.

She was jolted from her trance as the door slid open revealing Mila and Misora. She ran to her daughter and knelt in front of her, hands cupping her face.

"How was it? Is your sister ok?" she asked urgently.

The little girl nodded, her big eyes calm and bright, "Kazue-nee wants to see you and dad," she told them.

"Oh, yes. Yes of course," she looked to Mila who motioned for them to follow her.

Kinuyo's mind seemed to race ever faster as the four of them made their way towards their destination. Omasu kept an arm around her shoulders to offer what comfort he could and Misora held her hand as she remained largely oblivious to her mother's silent turmoil.

Kinuyo felt her heart lurch as they finally stopped. Mila stepped aside and motioned towards the doors. Omasu and his wife exchanged anticipatory glances, though hers were a bit more anxious, before she slid the screen open.

"Kazue…"

The wide-eyed mother dashed towards the girl, moving around the table and kneeling down beside her, hands half outstretched, almost afraid to touch her. Slowly, she reached forward and brushed her cheek ever so slightly. Then the tears fell.

"Let's give them some privacy," Mila whispered to Misora as she pulled the girl aside, closing the door behind Omasu.

* * *

"I'm sorry about that," Kinuyo sniffled, gathering herself after having wept for a good long while, letting go of twenty years worth of tears and clinging onto Aroka like her life depended on it. The girl simply let it happen, patting her back comfortingly every so often; something Kinuyo took as a good sign. The woman now sat beside her husband, both of them across from their daughter.

"I haven't seen you up close in years, you've grown into a beautiful young woman," she smiled warmly, eyes still a bit glassy.

"Thank you."

"How was Konoha? I know you just got back from a long trip."

"It's very nice, I liked it a lot."

"That's wonderful, you have friends there, right? The ones that used to visit you here?"

"Yes, a few, though they're all rather busy these days."

"Ah, I see." But something was nagging at her, something that tainted the vibrant joy she felt, so she opted to ask carefully, "Honey, I'm glad you wanted to see us again, but why now, after all this time? Is everything ok?"

"Of course, I just thought it was a good time to… make amends."

Kinuyo grinned in relief, "That's good, that's good…" Her eyes lowered to the table for a moment before fixing on Aroka again, "You know we've missed you all these years. Not a day passed where I didn't wonder how you were doing, if you were happy, if you were eating well. I just wanted to know you were ok, you know? I was afraid you would grow up hating us because we were never there for you, and I'm so sorry we couldn't be. I'm so sorry you had to grow up alone, and if there was any way to take it all back, I would. But please know we never forgot about you, Kazue, not once," Kinuyo was once again crying by the end of it. Her husband held her hand and put his other on her shoulder comforting.

"I know why you did what you did. It's ok," Aroka reassured. Whether or not her words were honest didn't matter, because when Kinuyo heard them she began sobbing even harder.

"Thank you… t-thank you… thank you…" she choked out in between breaths. How long had she been waiting to hear those words? It was as if she had been freed from an enormous burden; the guilt that had built up over the years was forgiven, even though she knew she didn't deserve it.

Maybe heaven was giving her another chance.

"How about we bring Misora in?" Aroka changed the topic, trying to lighten the mood. "I didn't think you'd want her to see you like this so I asked Mila to keep her back for a while."

"Yes, of course! That would be great!" Kinuyo brightened instantly, wiping away any evidence of her tears, leaving only slightly reddened eyes.

Suddenly, she felt a jarring disturbance in the air, though she couldn't identify what it was. Alarmed, she quickly turned to her husband who appeared startled as well.

"Don't worry," Aroka spoke before they could become too concerned, "That was me, I was just signaling for Mila to bring her in."

"Right, yes, of course."

"It was chakra," she could tell the woman was holding back her curiosity for fear of offending her, "I inherited it from him," she gestured towards Omasu.

"Oh! I didn't know that!" Kinuyo grinned at the revelation, "How nice that you take after your father!"

Behind them the door slid open and Misora poked her head into the room.

"You can come in," Aroka called, gesturing for the girl.

"Misora, dear, come here!" Kinuyo beckoned. The girl obediently padded her way over to her parents. "Here, sit next to your sister."

And so the family sat reunited for the first time in two decades. The mother was grateful beyond words. She never thought she would get to see both her daughters in front of her and yet here they were: vibrant and alive like children are, together like they were always meant to be.

Misora was happy as well. Though she didn't quite understand the _why_ behind everything, she was happy to finally meet the sister she had only ever heard about and seen in passing glances. She was glad her Kazue-nee was nice, she wanted to get to know her better. Her mother would always say how much they looked alike, she hoped that was true because she thought Kazue-nee was pretty. She had hoped maybe she would be able to go home with them today, but she also knew that wouldn't be the case, not yet all least, so she wouldn't bring it up.

Omasu knew he should share in the joy the rest of his family felt, yet he couldn't convince himself to do so. As little as he knew about Aroka, his wife and daughter knew even less. On the few occasions he had been able to speak to her, he had always asked her to give them another chance and each time she had made her decision clear:

 _"No way. Why would I want a family that doesn't want me?"_

That was the first time he was able to speak to her, she couldn't have been much older than Misora back then.

 _"I don't want anything to do with you."_

A few years later, she was a teenager now. He remembered thinking how much she resembled her mother, especially the way she laughed.

 _"You had your chance twenty years ago."_

And it was true, they made a grave mistake and they lived every day with the burden of knowing what they had done.

 _"I don't want to speak to you again."_

That was the last thing she said to him before he left Konoha. He had gathered the courage to ask her one last time and with that final rejection went the last of his hope.

Imagine his surprise when he received a message from her just a few days ago: she would be returning soon and wanted to meet with all three of them. He had to read it over a few times just to make sure he wasn't imagining it. At first he was overjoyed; it was a miracle! They would finally get what they wanted after all! Then it hit him: why? Never, in all her years, had she ever shown the slightest interest in reconnecting with her birth family. He had spoken to her just weeks prior and she had refused him as firmly as always. What made her change her mind? He had never known her to be a malicious kind of person so he had to assume her intentions were genuine, but the question still lingered…

 _Why?_


End file.
